A Quest for the Dead
by Bridgette-Daughter of Athena
Summary: Percy is lost with Annabeth dead and he decides to save Annabeth from the Underwold. A quest has been set forth and Percy, Thalia, and Nico have to find three items to get into the Underworlds secret entrance. A lot of betrayal and challenges. Prolouge is Good to be Home? Please check it out! Hope you like it!
1. A Blessing from Athena

Percy's POV

Being without Annabeth was torture. I finally realized that she was the love of my life and I couldn't do anything without her. I didn't train, I didn't eat, and I didn't sleep. I just lay on my bed thinking of her breath-taking smile, her heart-warming gaze through her gray eyes, her beautiful blonde hair. She was beautiful, and there was nothing I could do to get her back. Unless…

"Nico!" I yelled, "Where are you?"

"I'm right here, Percy…" he said as he walked over to the Poseidon Cabin at a slow pace, "What do you want?" He didn't look happy.

"I want to bring Annabeth back from the Underworld," I said abruptly.

"What?" he asked, "You brought me out of my cabin, leaving Thalia waiting for me, and that's what you want?"

"What would you do if Thalia died?" I said. I instantly knew I had won this point.

"Well, I would…Fine Percy, you win. I would bring her back," he said. He seemed disappointed.

"How will we do this though…?" I asked, "We can't just walk up to your dad and ask to bring the one and only girl that I like back from the dead."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" he said.

"Gods you don't have to snap!" I said.

"Just let me talk to Thalia about this. Also, Chiron wants to talk to you. I think he said it was about you missing practice…for the past four weeks…" said Nico.

"Go ahead and talk to Thalia. I mean she is Annabeth's friend and I'll talk to Chiron in a sec," I said as I started to walk back into my cabin until I stopped. "Don't tell anyone except for Thalia about this."

"Whatever…" he said as he walked back to the new Hades' cabin with his hands in his jean pockets. I ran inside.

I stumbled upon some clean clothes and I quickly took a shower. I didn't know when the last time I took a shower was… I was a bit scared about how I smelled to other people. After my shower I got dressed. In the bathroom, I looked into the mirror and tried to comb my black hair…that's when I noticed the picture of Annabeth and I wedged into the side of the mirror. I never remembered putting that picture there. I quickly brushed my teeth and then ran out of my cabin and trudged my way to the Big House.

"Chiron? You wanted to see me?" I asked as I walked through the door.

"Yes, Percy. I do. Why have you been missing practice?" he asked. I stared at the floor.

"Oh…I see. Annabeth?" he asked. I felt my eyes start to water.

"Yeah…I really miss her," I said.

"Is that so? I have heard a rumor that you plan to go to the Underworld to bring her back," he said. Instantly I bolted up and thought _How __did __HE __know?_.

"I'm guessing you were," he said.

"Who told you?" I asked.

"Annabeth's mother, Athena," he said, "She said she was watching you when you talked to Nico about it."

"What do you think about it?" I said. I was afraid of his answer.

"Well I must say it would be difficult. Athena has been grieving at the lost of her daughter, but she feel's that bringing her back would not be something Annabeth would want," he said. _Stupid __Athena_ I thought. Instantly at that moment, Athena popped out of nowhere and stared directly at me.

"What was that, Jackson?" she asked.

"WHAT!" I asked.

"You called me stupid, I believe. You are lucky Zeus has a soft spot for you, Percy, or else he would have blasted you out of the sky!" she said, "I'm beginning to think Annabeth's nickname for you is true!"

"Okay I do not have seaweed in my brain and it's not my fault that Annabeth died. She died saving my life. Some Roman decided to try to stab me in my most vulnerable spot and Annabeth jumped in the way. She died because she loved me and she knows that she couldn't bear to live without me; just like I can't live without her. Please allow me to bring her back. It's the only thing I want to do. It's the only thing I _need _to do. Please?" I asked.

Athena thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose so, Percy. Just don't hurt her," she said. I felt the need to hug her, so I did. I ran to her and wrapped my arms around her. I can say it surprised her but she hugged me back and smiled. I pulled away from her. I felt very weird after that; almost warm and fuzzy inside. "Thank you, Athena. I will do ANYTHING to get her back."

She smiled. "Go then, Percy Jackson. Go with the blessing form the Gods," she said and she touched my forehead. I felt a light feeling in me and she disappeared. That was the first time in a long time were I was touched by a Goddess of Olympus.

I walked back to my cabin and I found Nico and Thalia waiting for me. They asked what happened at the Big House and I told them about my encounter with Athena. I left out the detail about the hug. That was too awkward.

"So how do you want to do this?" Thalia asked. I stared at Nico.

"What? Why are you staring at me?" he asked.

"You're the Underworld Child…" I said. Thalia glared at me. Nico ignored it.

"I say we rest for tonight and we will plan the trip tomorrow. We will leave the day afterward. Also Percy?" he asked, "You are going to train tomorrow. We don't want you getting rusty."

"Okay. That sounds like a plan see you all tomorrow," I said. I left them to walk back to their cabins and I changed out of my clothes. I can't believe it's already night. I crawled into my bed and I tried to drift off to sleep but I couldn't. That thing I remember thinking was _Don__'__t __worry, __Annabeth. __We__'__ll __find __you __and __bring __you __back. __Even __if __we __die __trying__…_

Author's note

I hope you like this sequel. It will be filled with adventure and betrayal. These things go so well together. Please R&R


	2. A Ressurection

Annabeth's POV

The Underworld seemed so much different now that I was dead. It seemed more peaceful than the last time I was here years ago. When I first met Percy, we were traveling to the Underworld in LA, CA to get his mother back from Hades. It was a long trip and Percy almost died a couple times. Now I had died and I was free to live my afterlife in the Underworld.

As I walked in line I looked at all the different people who have also died. There was a huge group of Africans who died in an earthquake. Many had there hands or legs cut off or they had a rock through their head. It was sad to look at so I looked away. There was a group of people from Brazil who had died from disease when they grew a new plant that was apparently poisonous. I looked away from them too. So I decided to look forward in my own line. I thought about Percy and the others. It brought a tear to my eye and I quickly wiped it away. It was all those stupid Romans. If they hadn't have kidnapped Percy, I'd never be here right now! That's when I felt light and I strangely started to fade into a light and the next thing I knew I was surrounded by Percy, Thalia, and Nico. I also saw my mom, Athena.

"Oh, Annabeth!" Athena said, "We've missed you so much!"

"What am I doing here? I was standing in line when I was transported here! There was a bright light and I started to fade away!" I said. I was so furious. I could split an entire rock into two.

"So _that's_ what it feels like! One time, a person I resurrected said he exploded but I didn't believe him…" said Nico.

"Of _course_, Nico. It was you. Why did you do this exactly? And why are you here, mom?" I asked. I was so confused.

"We did this to tell you something important," said Percy, "It was my idea."

"And I'm here because I blessed Percy on his new quest; the quest of the dead. Oh that has a nice ring to it. The quest of the dead. THE QUEST OF THE DEAD!" said Athena.

"MOM! Shut up! Please," I said. Athena looked stunned. "You're giving me a headache." We all stood in silence. I listened to everybody's breathe. The beating of everybody else's heart. I tried to listen to mine, but I didn't breathe. My heart didn't beat. "What do you have to tell me, Percy?" I looked at him with wide eyes. Percy. The only guy I loved. Standing in front of me. The dead me. It didn't feel the same. I felt alive when I was with him. Now being around him made me feel even MORE dead. "What do you have to tell me!" I was getting impatient.

"We are all going to bring you back again. To be back with your parents. To be back with your friends. To be back with me," Percy said. He looked sad and weak. His eyes were red from crying. I watched his eyes tear up. I couldn't say no. But I was dead. How could they bring me back? I know Nico was Hades son but he is strict and he wouldn't let me go. "How are you planning on doing this?" I asked.

"We don't exactly know yet. We are planning to travel to California tomorrow and then we'll just wing it," said Nico.

"Don't worry, Annabeth," said Athena. They looked at each other though there gray eyes. I almost couldn't tell the difference. "I have blessed Percy with the touch of Athena so he should be protected. I have given him knowledge to let him know what to do during time of great peril. He will fight with strength and loyalty. Nico and Thalia will protect his Achilles' spot and he will bring you home."

I was touched I ran up to Athena and tried to give her a hug, but as soon as I touched her, the signal was disrupted. I heard Percy yell the word "no" and I realized that he still wanted to say something to me. When I touched Athena, I saw, from the corner of my eye, Nico falling. I realized that resurrecting the dead to talk to them took a lot of energy. I knew that Nico would be resting for hours to regain his energy. I also realized I hadn't left my spot in line. When I heard the word "NEXT!" suddenly became scared. Either I would be placed in Elysium, the field of Asphodel, or the field of Punishment, where I will be tortured for the rest of my life…

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I hope you liked it. Please review and add suggestions so I can make this better. This will be my longest story filled with adventure and betrayal so I will use any suggestions the best I can to make an exciting and captivating story. Some suggestions I will accept are ways to make things less confusing, places that Percy and the gang stop and have a danger filled chapter, etc. Thanks for reading!


	3. A Lover's Fight

Percy POV

That morning we left and thing's went bad as soon as we left the camp parking lot. There were many farewells and I felt braver. Being without Annabeth was pure torture and I couldn't wait to get her back into my arms. Nico had told us that there was a secret to the Underworld that only him and Hades new about. They had been exploring the Underworld, father and son, and Nico accidentally stumbled upon it. I was worried that Hades would be watching that spot, like it was an exit or entrance source for his enemies that could be spying on him, but Nico told me not to worry. I couldn't.

"What do we do now?" asked Nico.

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked.

"I mean that we will be driving for more than two days! Or at least until we reach Kennewick, Washington, which is on the other side of the COUNTRY! Washington is north of Oregon and that's north of California! Kennewick is a thousand miles _or more _from LA! And we are stopping in LA first!" Nico explained, "We are going to DIE FROM BOREDOM!"

"So?" I asked.

"So! Unless you want to sit around like a lazy butt, staring out the window _mourning_ about Annabeth like some loner who doesn't do _ANYTHING_ but cry, I want to do something whether you want to or not!"

"Nico!" scolded Thalia, "How could you _say_ such a thing! I thought you wanted to help Annabeth. You knew what we were going to be traveling in, how long you were going to be traveling, and the other stuff because you PLANNED IT. GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" she was furious and so was I.

_Big mistake, Nico! _I thought to myself. I uncapped Riptide and posed it at his throat. My eyes started to water and I felt my control snap in too. I was no longer in control of my actions and I felt deep down that this wasn't going to end well.

"Percy!" yelled Thalia, "What are you doing! Let the poor boy be!" I pointed my sword at her and she stumbled backwards against a bench.

"NO! MAKE HIM TAKE BACK WHAT HE SAID!" I yelled as I posed my sword back at Nico.

"Nico, say you're sorry, or he'll slice you to pieces. I watched him practice yesterday. He didn't just stab the dummy, HE DESTROYED IT! He is as angry as my father!" said Thalia.

"WHAT? I HELPED make those. And they were _so_ much money," said Nico. I started to push the blade harder to his throat, causing a bit of blood to drip. "OW! Uh…I'm sorry, okay?" Nico finally said. I pulled back a little put I kept the blade at his neck.

"What else do you want?" he demanded. I looked at his terrified face. I fought the urge to smile and laugh. That's when a bump in the road made me stumble and lose my balance. Nico moved out of the way while Thalia tackled me, grabbed my sword out of my hands and slapped me. I came back to my senses.

"I'm so sorry, Nico. I don't know what came over me…" I looked at the floor.

"That's okay, Percy. Maybe that remark was a little much," he confessed. I looked up.

"A little? It was a lot much. Why would you ever say something like that? You know how much I care for Annabeth. I LOVE HER! Just like how you love Thalia!" I said. I saw Thalia look away. Nico's face expression changed to anger. I realized I probably shouldn't have said that.

"Percy, there is something you should know," said Thalia, "We had a huge fight and we broke up."

"No! You we complaining how stupid something was and I didn't agree, but you said that you were right which got me upset," said Nico.

"What were you even fighting about?" I asked. I shouldn't have asked that.

"I thought that his favorite color shouldn't be the red because it clashed with his personality," she said.

"Well black shouldn't be your favorite color!" Nico said.

"Well at least it doesn't clash with my personality!" Thalia yelled.

I stared in amazement and fascination. And thought, _This is going to be a long trip…_


	4. A Visit from a Fury

Nico's POV

The bus ride felt longer than it should have been. I hated it. My neck hurt and I couldn't stop replaying what just happened in my mind. Over and over and over again. I stared outside the window most of the time. I stared at Percy and Thalia playing Twister, Monopoly, or some other stupid, yet fun board game. It was torture. I meant it when I said I was going to die from boredom. I knew if I didn't do something in the next minute, I'd be on my way to my dad and the Underworld. Great. I thought about the good times I had with Thalia and then they changed to bad memories. I felt like I wanted to blow something up. Whenever I tried to talk to them now, they looked away and didn't say anything. I knew they were waiting for a better apology. Well, mostly Thalia. So that's what I was doing to do…

"Thalia?" I asked. She looked up from her book _Vampire __Academy_. It's ironic how a demigod would read about vampires instead of reading about their godly parent or something about mythology. I studied her facial expression, which I believe said '_This __better __be __good. __Rose __is __just __about __to __find __Dimitri __and __tell __him __what __happened __to __Lissa__'_. Great.

"What do you want? Rose is just about to find Dimitri and tell him what happened to Lissa! It's the best part!" she replied. How I was right, I don't know. I've never even heard of that book or what it's about and yet I know what happens…scary.

"I want to apologize. I sorry for making a big deal, about you comment about my favorite color. It was a stupid thing to make a big deal about in the first place. I guess the reason why I like it was because it's the color of Hades and blood and death. I really want to be friends. Can we?" I asked. Man, I had Guts!

She stood there and hesitated. "Sure," she finally said. I was happy to hear her say that. I smiled and I realized that she was smiling too. That's when Percy came in. He looked terrible! He had blood smeared on his face and he looked ready to pass out. He did. He had Riptide in his had which clattered when he dropped it. He had no strength. He stumbled against the wall and we could barely make out a couple important words.

"Monster…Room…Blood…Underworld…attacked…me." That was all he said until he fell to the ground. His mouth had a red rectangle on it. I saw whip lashed on his back with blood seeping out. I saw rope marks around his wrist and he had cuts and bruises all over his face. From these physical features, I could tell that he was tied up, had duck tape over his mouth so he couldn't make a sound, whipped, cut with knives, and kicked many times. I had seen this torture many times and I instantly got up to face a creature that I hated, a creature that could be the devil's daughter. I got up to face one of the three Furies. Thalia screamed out loud when Percy land on the ground. She rushed over to him and I saw tears leak from her face. Another friend of hers was brutally injured and about to die. I ran into the room to talk with the Fury. She and I were on a name basis. I hoped that she wouldn't hurt me.

"What are you doing here?" I yelled at her.

"Your father told me to give you a messsssage. He sssaid that he issss angry with you and he wantssss to ssssee you immediately," she said. Great!

"How did he know about this?" I asked.

"He sssaid that he wassss watching when you were planning to break Annabeth out of the Underworld and that'sssss when he got really angry," she said.

"When do I have to listen to his lecture?" I asked, bummed out.

"He wantsssss you there now!" she said and she grabbed me and we instantly were in the Underworld in front of my Hades.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm helping Percy get Annabeth back!" I replied.

"I know that but why?" he asked. Suddenly Apollo emerged from the door with Hermes.

"Apollo? Hermes? What on Olympus are you doing here?" I asked.

"I had to bring Hermes here since he broke a wing and he wants it to heal like a human or demigod. He's not going to instantly heal it like the rest of us do!" Apollo said. He was definitely angry at Hermes.

"Well Zeus told me to give Hades a message and I'm not flying to California!" Hermes said.

"You can instantly pop up here. You know that, right?" Apollo said.

"Yes! But it takes energy! And I'm too lazy!" Hermes said.

"YOU ARE A GOD! IT DOESN'T TAKE ENERGY!" Apollo said.

"ENOUGH!" said Hades. I think he was as annoyed as I was. "What do you have to tell me?"

"Oh! Zeus told me to tell you to leave Percy, Thalia, and Nico alone. He wants to know if they can do it. He likes entertainment!" said Hermes.

"What? Are you kidding me, Zeus?" Hades said.

"Also, Poseidon wants you to never have a Fury almost kill his son AGAIN or he will kill you. And then when you reappear, he will kill you again!" Hermes said, "And that's about it!" Then he instantly left the room leaving Apollo even angrier.

"OH COME ON!" he said and he left the room to probably break Hermes other wing.

"You may go son…" Hades said.

And at that point I found myself back in the bus. I walked back into the walk way to find Percy, heart barely beating and Thalia hunched over him mending his wounds.

"Hades said he's sorry for having the Fury come and practically destroying you," I said.

"That okay…" Percy barely said.

"What did Hades have to talk about?" Thalia asked. And then I told them the whole story of my trip to the Underworld.

"It was crazy down there and then-" I stopped and stared out the window. I was happy. The sign that went by said _Welcome __to __Washington __State!_. Our bus trip to Kennewick was almost over…


	5. The Oracle Of Rachel! Delci

Percy's POV

The time that it took from the _Welcome to Washington_ sign to the city of Kennewick was about forty-five minutes. This was good because I got to mend my cuts and bruises and to get some rest. Also…I had time to think. I thought a lot about the fight with my sword piercing though Nico's, but only far enough for a small stream of blood to flow down his neck, and about the whole incident with the Fury. That's when one particular thought came to mind: _If I have the Curse of Achilles', how did the cut and stab me?_

"That's strange…" said Thalia, "How on earth could the Fury hurt you? You have an INVISABLE shield!"

"Well, I've heard rumors that since the Furies are Immortal-" Nico said.

"Well! IF you don't know…THE GODS are also immortal. They can't kill me. Do you know who is also immortal? The Titans! They couldn't kill me!" I interrupted. I was going to be angry at him for the longest time, and he knew it too.

"That is true," said Thalia.

"Okay…" Nico said, "What if the Achilles' curse doesn't work with the Furies?" There was a silence. It seemed awkward, but I knew that Nico was waiting on Thalia's and my thought on the theory.

"They what would I do? That Fury will KILL ME before the day is over!" I said.

"Well, Poseidon gave a huge freak out and he threatened Hades. The threat was if Hades sent the Furies out after you again, he would-" said a voice. We all jumped around and were shocked to find Apollo staring at us with an apple in his mouth. It was a golden delicious. No surprise.

"What are you doing here?" asked Thalia.

"What do you think, sweetheart?" the god replied. Nico looked stunned. I look at Thalia and I saw the daggers in her eyes. She was ready to pounce on him before I put my arm in front of her so she wouldn't. We've had this discussion with Apollo before. She used to say that the only person who could call her sweetheart was Nico, but they broke up. So I guess no one could now.

"Don't call me sweetheart!" she screamed. She stomped out of the room.

"What's her problem?" Apollo asked.

"It doesn't matter tell me what's wrong!" I yelled. I was getting impatient.

"Who said something's wrong?" Apollo asked. His response got Nico all excited and giddy. I watched him as his eyes grew to the size of a Christmas ornament and his mouth turn into a smile with his unknown and always hidden dimples appearing quite fast.

"So something is awesome and cool and sweet and fantastic and makes all the girls swoon and laugh and giggle and blush and…" Nico started. Apollo and I stood there listening to him list off the things that are awesome in his life. It felt like it took an hour but I knew better. I took ten minutes. "…and buttercups and daffodils and cheesecake and pickles and ABC and XYZ and 27 and presents and money and…Thalia...?" We were silent. I watched as Thalia stormed back _into_ the room, stop in front of Nico, and I stared as she slapped him. That's when I caught a scent of burning flesh.

"Thalia…did…did you shock him while you slapped him?" I asked.

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" she screamed. Then she stormed out of the room.

"Well…that went well?" Apollo tried, but he couldn't break the awkward silence. I helped Nico back onto his feet and I told him he has a huge red hand print and some burnt flesh on his face. He just stared off into the distance and nodded.

"Okay. He's what I say we do. We can stop at a local Starbucks and grab some drinks and we can talk about the things you need to tell us about. Sound like a plan everyone?" I asked. I had realized Thalia returned to the room, but no one else had. I looked at Thalia, which made Apollo and Nico turn around to find Thalia staring at us all. Nico, who of course was now forever afraid of her presence, stumbled out of his chair and made his way over to hide behind me, which made me his human-shield.

"Yeah that's fine. We are now in Kennewick and I see a Starbucks over there by that mall. It's the…Mid…Columbia mall. You see it?" she asked as she pointed out the window toward a large building surrounded by a whole bunch of cars. She was right. Outside the mall what a little building that read _Starbucks_. We were ready to stop.

"So," I said as I sipped my frozen Vanilla Bean Crème Frappe, "What do you need to tell us?" I motioned this question toward Apollo. He looked up from his melted mocha frappe. Wow. I guess a sun god could melt his own frap.

"Well, I'm guessing that Nico told you the whole story about in the Underworld, right?" he asked. We all nodded. "Good, so he told you that Zeus loves demigod entertainment. Zeus has arranged a challenge for you. There are beasts guarding the entrance to the secret opening in the Juniper Dunes, which are sand dunes east of Pasco, which is across the river." We all sighed. _Why did saving Annabeth have to be SO HARD?_ I thought.

"What do we have to do?" I asked. You have to know all the details.

"You are to find three items. These items will get you past the beasts. There will be lots of sport meaning chances to die or to be victorious. One last thing. I brought Rachel," he said.

"You mean the Oracle?" asked Thalia. She was now finished with her hot chocolate.

"Yeah. RACHEL! Come here," he yelled. The next thing I saw was a girl with red hair trot over. Since the last time I saw her, I realize that she was beautiful as a flower.

"Hello, Perseus, Thalia, and Nicolas," she said.

"Well, just call me Percy," I said real smooth.

"And me Nico!" Nico piped in.

"Alright, Nico and Percy and Thalia. Who is the leader of your quest?" Rachel asked.

"I am," I said.

"Alright, come with me for some privacy," she replied. I followed her. We walked into a nearby alley way and we stopped and she began to speak. I had realized that I hadn't asked a question but she was still giving me a prophecy. Green mist shimmered around her and her green eyes glowed. Then she spoke…

_Three of the big three shall go with peace,_

_But one will betray and friendship will cease._

_When help is given, it is not in need,_

_But when help is needed, there is no one to plead._

_Three items find or peril seeks,_

_Strangers seem nice but your info will leak._

_Careful must be the leader of two_

_Or multiple tortures will happen to you…_

The green mist that flowed from her mouth snaked its way back up and her eyes stopped glowing. She stumbled and she leaned against the wall but she just smiled and said, "I hope you got that memorized in that head, and you better be ready for the Quest for the dead!" We walked back to the Starbucks and Nico, Thalia, and I said our good-byes and thanks to Apollo and Rachel. She was still talking in rhymes. I chuckled to myself.

"What do we do now?" asked Nico politely.

"I say I tell you what the prophecy says, and just a heads up, you wont like it…" I said and I recited the prophecy in the middle of the bus with two sets of eyes staring into my soul…


	6. The Truth Comes Out

Annabeth's POV

Well I can say that ever since I fell under the power of death, I felt weak. I couldn't think straight and I couldn't stand still. Curse my ADHD! I began to wander though the fields of Asphodel. Thoughts of Percy clouded my mind. I thought about when I woke up in his apartment and I instantly wanted to watch him sleep. He was so cute. When I read the note on his bed, I started to cry. When I talked to his mother, I assured her so much, I felt brave enough to actually think I would get him out safely. As I reflected upon these memories, I realized, I really loved him with all my heart. And he loved me. I couldn't believe that he was going to go though all the trouble just to bring me home. News traveled as fast as lightning in the Underworld. I saw the Fury with Nico as they walked into the Palace of Hades and Persephone. I heard that devilish creature, that Fury, had whipped _him_. Somehow, that demon was able to hurt him, and kick him, and cut him. Even with his Curse of Achilles. Then I saw the image again. I was seeing Kronos slicing his blade through Percy's chest. I felt the thump as Percy's body slumped to the ground. I heard his heart beat stop as the blood spilled from his chest to the ground. I saw the light in his eyes leave, causing my heart to split. He was here before me dead. I dared not scream again. I _knew_ it was impossible. I was in the land of the dead. The Underworld. He would be here at my side if he was dead. There was an evil force at work and I knew that it was targeting Percy. There were rumors that Percy had accepted becoming a God. The new God of Time. Taking Kronos' place of the clock. But I knew better. Percy was trying to save me. Then I thought of Percy never completing his promise. I thought of afterlife eternal in Hell, I mean the Underworld. I walked away felling depressed as I waited for Percy to be my knight in Bronze armor.

Thalia's POV

We had no idea where to start. So, we decided to go to the Mid-Columbia Library and catch up on our reading. Percy decided to find a book on the Underworld, Nico found a book on Hades, and I looked for a book about the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. I knew the story. Orpheus was Eurydice's husband. Eurydice was bitten by a poisonous snake, Orpheus heartbroken, traveled to the underworld to get her back, _blah, blah, blah_, made a deal with Hades that if Orpheus looked back at Eurydice on the way back up, Eurydice would go back to the Underworld. When Orpheus was out of the passage way, he told Eurydice that it looked beautiful and He looked back to see her falling down back into the Underworld forever. Tragedy, saddening, and depressing. Great. One thing I saw in this book full of pictures (my dyslexia makes it so I can't read English and the Greek version was checked out) was Orpheus's golden lyre. An object that got Orpheus safely into the Underworld.

"Percy! Nico!" I yelled, "Come here! I think I found something!" They ran over from there places of study with there books and with concern on there faces.

"SHHH!" someone random said.

"Sorry," I whispered back. The woman didn't look like she was in a forgiving mood. I looked away and focused on telling Percy and Nico about the lyre. I set down the book and pointed to the picture of the lyre. Nico and Percy bent down to see it.

"This is Orpheus's golden lyre, which is a Greek musical instrument. Orpheus used the lyre to get into the Underworld to free his wife Eurydice, who had died. When Orpheus played his lyre to Hades and Persephone, they both were touched by Orpheus' sweet melody and Hades made Orpheus a deal," I explained. They both looked at me like I was a genius. "I think this is one of the three items we are supposed to find. What do you think?" There was silence of thinking between the two of them.

"Where do we start to look?" Nico asked.

"It's said that Orpheus' lyre was buried with him. And he was buried in Athens. We have to go to Greece," I said.

"No we don't. You know how everything moved over to the west when the Gods moved here? You know like the Underworld, Mount Olympus, and the labyrinth. What about the sea of monsters? It's in the Bermuda Triangle! Wouldn't his grave move over?" Percy asked.

"Percy, graves don't work the same way the Underworld and Mount Olympus, etc. do. They stay put. Orpheus is in Athens, Greece. We have to fly to Europe," I stated.

"Won't your father zap Percy out of the sky, though?" asked Nico.

"I'll make sure he won't. I'm his favorite daughter. I can make him do whatever I want him to do," I said. It was true. Thunder and lightning appeared out of nowhere. _What__a__jerk!_I thought to myself. I set down the book, ran outside and yelled upwards, "Settle down, Dad!" I'm pretty sure the people around me thought I was on crack or was just acting stupid. I chuckled at the thought. After I went back inside and found Percy and Nico eyes wide and mouths open wide, I realized that the thunder had stopped.

"Told you I can make him do what I want!" I said cheerfully.

"So, we are going to Greece?" asked Nico.

"Of course, dumb butt!" I said, "Where were you when we were talking about this?" That got him to shut up and I was happy about that. We knew what the first thing we needed to find was and we knew generally where it was. We just needed to know exactly where. We decided to pile into the bus.

Since it was almost nine pm, we decided to sleep. Since I'm the only girl, I got to sleep in the room. I smelled. I said that Nico could sleep in it. I knew he wouldn't care. I grabbed some fleece blankets and a puffy pillow and grabbed a seat by the window. I wrapped myself in the blankets and I drifted into a deep sleep. I dreamed of being with Nico but I woke up with a start. The door slammed shut. I looked around and I couldn't find Percy. My first thought that came to mind was that Percy was being captured again. So, I grabbed my bow and put on some slippers. I didn't care that I was wearing my Twinkies pajama pants and a Nerds shirt. I quietly opened the door and shut it. I drew my arrow and scoped out the perimeter. I saw a dark figure. I crept upon it. That's when I made the worst mistake and I stepped on a twig on the ground.

SHING! Percy turned around with Riptide in his hand and he caught me by surprise. I dropped my bow, which I had the arrow loose instead of drawn. I stumbled to the ground and Percy landed on top of me. He pointed the blade at my throat. Then a light shined on us. Nico. Oh crap.

"HOW COULD YOU?" He screamed. Percy realized that it was me and he got off of me. I stayed on the ground.

"Nico. Listen to me. I heard the door open and I saw that gone. I thought he was captured again. I grabbed my bow and arrows and I saw a dark figure. I accidentally stepped on a twig and the figure pulled out his sword and his sword him my bow. I stumbled to the ground. The dark figure jumped on top of me and he positioned his sword at my throat. That's when I realized it was Percy and then you came with the flashlight," I said. Percy held out his hand to help me up. I took it.

"What about you? What's your side of the story?" Nico asked Percy.

"Well, I was getting hot and my stomach was felling like crap so I came outside. I let the door slam. I brought Riptide because I wanted to be prepared if anyone attacked. I saw the shadow of a person with a bow and I stayed still. I was going to wait until the he came really close. That's when he stepped on a twig. I acted quickly. Too quickly. I brought out Riptide and I slashed at my opponent. He stumbled to the ground and he dropped his weapon. I jumped onto him and pointed Riptide at his throat. I still didn't know that it was Thalia. That's when you shined the light on us and then I saw that it was Thalia. If you hadn't and Thalia didn't say anything, I would have sliced her head off," Percy explained.

"Thank Gods you came!" I yelled and I ran to give Nico a hug, but he backed up and pointed a dagger at me.

"You're lying," He said, "It's all a lie! You wanted to break up with me the second Annabeth died! You wanted to go after Percy. Percy was just planning this to get away from the camp so he could secretly get together with you. You switched with me so you could sleep with Percy!"

"That's stupid! I would never go out with Annabeth's boyfriend. I switched with you because it smelled of Percy's blood and sweat. I loved you because you were cute and you loved me. I broke up with you because I wasn't ready to be in love. I broke up with you because you freaked out over my opinion. I broke up with you because my father told me to," I yelled. I knew I had said too much.

"At last the truth comes out!" Nico yelled.

"Give it up, Nico. You're drunk!" Percy said.

"He's drunk?" I asked.

"Yeah. He can't stand up straight, he wobbles, he won't look at us straight in the eyes, he is focusing on random things, I can smell it."

"I'm NOT DRUNK! Just tipsy!" Nico said.

"You are not the Nico I loved," I said.

"Well! That's a surprise! See you later freaks! I'm outta here!" Nico said.

"What? Where are you going?" Percy asked.

"SOMEWHERE WHERE I'M TREATED WITH RESPECT!" he said.

"NICO! Don't go…" I said, but I was too late. He was already running off into the city. I started to cry. Percy ran over to see if I was okay, but I stayed away from him. I ran into the bus and cried some more. The boy that I was forced to break up with was gone. And so was the boy that I loved…


	7. The Fight in our Second Flight

Percy's POV

With Thalia constantly mourning over the loss of Nico, it was hard to concentrate. I tried to focus on buying tickets to Greece or buying equipment of other important things like that, but I couldn't. I was always at Thalia's side; comforting her, telling her it's going to be all right, or anything else that she's worrying about. Once we got the tickets, we packed up our things and then we headed toward the Pasco airport. Our tip wouldn't be on that airplane the whole time though. Thank the GODS! We were going to stop in Chicago and then we will fly to Greece from there.

I got my stuff and then I decided to check up on Thalia. I looked into the back room. There she was, sitting on the bed with her bag of clothes next to her. She appeared to be holding a piece of paper or a picture. I knocked against the door. She jumped up in surprise and she stuffed what she was looking at in her purse. I looked at all the bags she had and I noticed her bow on her bed, along with her arrows.

"You know you can't take those on the plane," I stated, as I pointed at her weapons, "You know you'll have to keep them here, or find a way to hide them like turning them into a toothbrush." She looked offended, but she nodded, agreeing with me.

"I know…what do you think I should change them into?" she said, "but not a toothbrush!"

"You could change the quiver and arrows into a box of licorice, like Red Vines or Twizler's. But I don't know about the bow…WAIT! Change it into a snicker's bar," I said. She just stared at me. I was hungry! What should she expect?

"Why a snicker's bar?" she asked.

"There more popular," I explained.

"What about a Butterfinger or Reese's peanut butter cup?" she asked.

"Whatever… How do you know how to turn things into other objects?" I asked.

"I just do. My dad is Zeus!" she replied. She turned around and faced her bags.

Then I got up the courage to ask her a question, "Hey Thalia?" she turned back around to look at me.

"Yes?" she asked. She stared at me with great consent. I waited a little to see how I would say things delicately.

"What…what were you looking at before I came in?" I breathed a sigh of relief. I had finally gotten the courage to ask. I expected Thalia to explode in rage telling me off and trying to stab me with her hidden knife that only I and Nico had known about. I expected her to give me her famous death glare. No. She just sat there and stared at the floor. Something was bothering her. I just knew it. "Thalia…what's wrong?" I asked as I sat next to her. She began to cry. I got off the bed and stood in front of her. I held out my hand to help her up and I'm glad she took it. I grabbed a tissue from a Kleenex box and I wiped her tears with it. She laughed and then said the most random comment.

"I would expect Nico to do things like that. I knew you two were close…I'm sorry that she had to die. At least your soul mate has the ability to be brought back from the dead. I fear that Nico will try to kill me, and the thought drives me mad! I go insane thinking of all the torture I will receive from his best friends, the Furies. I've seen what happened to you, but I know that's not the worst. I wish that I could just, see him one last time!" she said. She began to sob and I hugged her. She embraced me and we fell silent except for Thalia sniffles. Her tears soaked my shoulder and we stood there until I backed up.

"It's going to be okay, alright?" I assured her, "We're better off without Nico." She looked me straight in the eyes and I saw her relax and calm down, "He's a big boy. For a fifteen year-old, he really packs a punch!" she laughed and smiled.

"Thanks," she said, "Oh crap! We have to go! We are going to miss the flight!" she shot up and grabbed her stuff. I helped as well as picked up my own stuff. We got out of the bus and walked toward the airport. We found out flight door to the plane and we waited for fifteen minutes before we got on the plane. We got seats next to each other and Thalia said I would be safer for me to be away from the window. If Zeus saw me through that window, I'd be a fried oyster! Not fun! We held hands and pretty soon, we were on our way to Chicago.

The first fight was long and dreary, but finally we were in Chicago. Thalia seemed mesmerized by all the tall buildings and all the people. I watched in amazement.

We stopped at a Cold-Stone Creamery for some ice cream and we sat down until we were called to go on the next flight to Greece. We happily walked to the door and we go on our flight. Greece, here we come!

"He looks suspicious. Do you think Zeus sent out people to try to kill us? I mean, he knows where we are! We are in HIS TERRITORY! He will try to kill us!" Thalia said she seemed a little pissed off. I didn't care too much.

"Tell Zeus to calm down. I mean you ARE his favorite daughter!" I said. She looked offended as Hades! I struck a nerve that wasn't meant to be struck.

"Listen here, Jackson! I'm in a crappy mood and I don't need you to make some smartass remarks! JUST SHUT UP!" she whispered loudly. I did.

As the flight went on, the feeling of being watched became greater. I didn't like it. I was constantly looking al all the people in the plane, my hand wrapped around Riptide's pen form. Then it hit me. The man I was suspicious of before was messing with something in his hand. Once the flight attendant said we could "you are free to move about the cabin", the man stood up and began to walk toward the front.

"Thalia!" I whispered. She looked over and took off her headphones, which were playing Telephone by Lady Gaga.

"What?" she asked.

"The man is walking toward us!" I whispered. I saw her tense. He eyes looked nervous and I know that the eyes don't lie. But I knew what she was going through. She wasn't ready to fight now that Nico was gone, just like I'd been when I lost Annabeth.

"Listen closely, we are going to have to fight him. But wait until he strikes. He will be the one attacking. Alright?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'll get my bow," she said and she started to unzip her carry-on.

"No! Use your dagger. People might think it's something else through the Mist, but I'll think they will recognize a bow and arrows when they see it.

"What about you? Your sword isn't too noticeable," she said sarcastically.

"I'll say it was my cane. You can turn my pen into a cane if they question us," I said.

"Okay…LOOK OUT!" she screamed. The man pulled out a sword and tried to slice us to pieces. I quickly unbuckled and pulled our Riptide. The people around us began to scream and the security guards began to arrive and they tried (and failed) to settle things.

"ON THE GROUND!" they would yell, but I would keep trying to block and counter his offensive moves. Thalia was trying her best to get unbuckled, but her seatbelt got jammed. She was desperately trying to unbuckle it when the man's sword that I block blade down upon her thigh.

"Ahh!" she yelled. The blood flowed through her clothes and began to stain the seat.

"Someone help her!" I yelled. I thought of a way to get him to lose and one came up. I gave a quick kick at his crotch and this took a couple seconds for him to process. Then he felt it and he stumbled to the ground. I kicked his weapon out of his hands and I helped Thalia, like she had helped me. I picked her up and I began to carry her to the flight attendants room. We, being the doctor there and myself, stopped the bleeding and probably saved her life. Although she wouldn't die, she was still going to be agonizing me, annoying me to death. _Percy, __get __me __a __glass __of __water. __Percy, __I __want __a __burrito, __Percy, __help __me __get __to __the __bathroom. __Percy!_ This was going to be a nightmare.

We were asked a couple of questions. They asked me how I defeated such a tough man and I briefly explained that I had taken a martial arts class when I was young and I gave him a kick to the crotch. They nodded in approval. Then they asked what he attacked with. I said that I couldn't tell. It was going all too quick. Then they asked why he attacked us. We stared at the floor. Then Thalia explained, "He's my father. I ran away to elope with this guy," she nudged my arm. I played along and hugged her, which took her by surprise, "when he found out that we were going to Greece, he was furious and he obviously tried to kill us on the plane." It was a good story! Even I believed it. "The reason why we don't have the same last name is I chose to my mom's last name when she remarried. I hated his last name. Grace is much better!" I was proud of her.

They let us go and they moved us to a different seat. We got first class. They apologized and they wished us a happy marriage and honeymoon. "Don't do anything too stupid, I did and there were consequences!" they would say and we laughed at that.

As I watched Thalia sleep, she seemed peaceful. I smiled. Then I drifted to my own sleep. Then I woke up and heard, "we will begin our final decent in half an hour." I breathed a sigh of relief. Today, we'd be in Greece and I was going to LOVE IT!


	8. He's Back

Percy's POV

We got off the plane and we found our baggage at the baggage claim. We walked down the walkways of the airport and we gasped as we looked out of the window. There were ruins and cemeteries and so much farm land. We looked out another window and we saw a huge city; the modern city of Athens. Because they ran out of food on the plane (at least they didn't run out of Dr. Pepper), we decided to stop at Subway and get something to eat before we starved ourselves to death. I ordered a turkey sub with coleslaw and a medium Cherry Coke and Thalia wanted to order a salad with a large Diet Coke, but I told her she needed protein. With her thigh sliced open and her losing a lot of blood, she needed all the protein she could get her hands on. The woman who got Thalia's order said that she could put some deli meat on there, so Thalia was very happy once she got her salad. We walked to a near table and set our food down. We ate in silence except for the awkward sips of soda. Once I'd finished with my sub and Thalia ate the last piece of lettuce, we sat in silence. At least until Thalia spoke.

"What do we do now?" she asked, "We're in Greece and we've eaten. How do we know where to go? Greece is pretty big and there are a lot of graves." I thought about this for a moment. I looked around and tried to think of a way to figure out where to go without traveling the whole country before finally finding the right cemetery. I looked at Thalia and I saw her huge fat grin on her face and I was instantly confused.

"What?" I asked. She wouldn't stop grinning. "What?" she still wouldn't answer me. "For crying out loud! Why are you grinning?" I was so impatient. I couldn't stand it! I got up and then Thalia stood up and ran. I began to chase her but I stopped when she landed to a halt at the Information desk. I sat back down when and I watched as the woman at the desk talked to her and, from what I could tell from Thalia's pointing, asked her about her leg. Thalia was enjoying talking to the woman and then the woman began to search around her desk, looking for something. When the woman obviously found what she was looking for, she handed a folded piece of paper to Thalia. Thalia walked back, clutching the piece of paper like a treasure map. In our case, it was.

"WHAT ON OLYMPUS WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?" I screamed.

"Have you ever been on a trip," she said calmly, "and you can't find where you're going so you ask the Customer Service desk?" She smiled and held out the paper. It turned out to be a pamphlet on cemeteries. We looked inside and found a map of cemeteries all over Greece. Then I found the one we were to look for. I pointed to the map and Thalia's face brightened; _Orpheus__Cemetery_. We were on our way to the treasure and Orpheus Cemetery was the big red X.

We rented a car and we decided to go with something that was really flashy. We rented a silver, Chevy Camaro. We drove in style and we drove with smiles on our faces. On the way, I had to ask.

"Thalia? How did you explain to her that you wanted a pamphlet on cemeteries?" I knew it was a stupid question. She looked over at me from the passenger seat.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, you don't just go up to the customer service and demand a pamphlet on cemeteries. They always ask why. What did you say?" I asked. She thought of the right words to say.

"Well, I said that I had a huge a Greek ancestry and I said I looked young for my age and that I was in collage. She nodded and then I explained for a family history elective class, I had a enormous genealogy project and I had to actually had to go to Greece and find the graves that they were buried in, take a picture or two and write an essay that included the dates of when they died, where they were born, where they died, etc. She just said that it sounded fun and then she asked me about my leg." She explained. I nodded, barely understanding a word that she said.

"I've notice that you always have a story to any situations. "

"I've noticed that you ask a lot of questions!" she said. I laughed.

"How?" I asked.

"How what? How I notice you ask a lot of questions?" she replied, confused.

"How do you have a story for every situation? Jeez how hard it to figure out a question, but you can figure out a complicated, yet convincing story in ten or less seconds?" I asked.

"Well, I don't really know how…I guess I just have read a lot of books that I know a lot of ways to get out of situations. In the _Warrior __Heir_, they travel to an isolated, small town and dig up their dead great aunt's grave! In the _Scarlet __Letter_, they plan to elope! I think. I read that book a long time ago so I don't remember it as well at the other books…" she said.

"I really don't see you as the bookworm type. I picture you with a sword or bow and arrows, constantly practicing. I know that most people have interesting hobbies, like Annabeth with her architecture, me with figuring out more of my demigod, son of Poseidon powers, really I've been noticing a lot of cool things that I can do now that I couldn't so before!" I said. I knew I was talking too much.

"Well, maybe you should learn to socialize with people instead of meditating in your salty seawater!" she yelled.

"It's not my fault! at least I'm more popular with the gods than you are with your bad temper!" I said. It took her a minute to finally realize what I had said. When she realized my insult, her face grew dark crimson. I stepped on the break and the car halted to a stop. Thalia hit the window. When she got back to earth, she stared at me.

"What was THAT?" she asked.

"We don't want to miss our stop, do we?" I said. I pointed out the window. She stared out the tinted window at the cemetery and she started to get out of the car. I held her back.

"What?" she asked. I pointed out the window at a headstone and we saw a little boy, about our age, leaning against it. He had a book in his hand and was wearing all red. He was shaded with darkness and when Thalia realized who it was, she said that she felt light headed. After I turned away from Thalia's pale state, I stared out the window and I saw that Nico was walking toward us. Then he started to skip, then jog, then run, and pretty soon he was at full sprint. I saw him pull his arms behind his head in a striking position and I caught a glimpse of metal. Bronze metal.

"HE'S GOT A SWORD!" I yelled and grabbed Riptide from my pocket. I opened the door and uncapped Riptide and I got ready to duel with Nico. Except he avoided me. He ran to my side, around the car, and stopped at the passenger door. The door to the seat that the now unconscious Thalia sat in. He opened the door and grabbed Thalia. She woke up and struggled in his arms.

"PUT ME DOWN, JERK!" she yelled. But he just ignored her. While Thalia kept struggling in his arms, Nico smiled and I stared at his red, faming eyes.

"If you want her back, come to the Shadow Land and apologize," I stared at him in disbelief.

"Really?" I asked, "That's all you could conjure up while we were on our plane to Greece?" I asked.

"I was on that plane too! Did you notice me? Probably not… I saw what happened to Thalia's leg. It must have really hurt. Do you know what would happen if she lost more blood? She'd be dead." He moved the point of his sword to Thalia's leg and poked it a bit. She yelled out in pain and I saw a small stain of blood soak into her pants.

"NICO! YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT!" I yelled.

"Oh but I do. If I can't have her, No one can. Especially you," he explained. Thalia stopped struggling and she gripped her thigh in pain. I started to get angry.

"Two things," I stated, "There wasn't and there will never be anything going on between me and Thalia and if you want a girl to like you, YOU DON'T STAB HER INJURED THIGH!" I yelled. I charged at him but he disappeared into shadow and blackness. His voice rang in my head like a high pitch ringing.

_Remember, come to the Shadow Land and apologize if you want her back…_

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><p><strong>Author's note:<strong>

**I hope you like the clift hanger! Please R&R! Also, give me suggestions to make it better! I want anything to make the story awesome!**


	9. The Golden Lyre and Blood

**Percy's POV**

I'd gone to the Shadow Land before. And I knew how to get there. All I had to do was focus all my energy on dark and negative thoughts. I would dream of a dark world that no one could touch. I would be completely safe. It wasn't just a safe zone though…it was also a meeting place or a planning room. It was a perfect plan for him. There were many corridors that I would have to search in and Nico could appear and disappear into darkness in an instant. I would have to listen for the sound of Thalia screaming or swords clashing. I was pretty sure that Thalia could escape his grasp. I focused all my energy and I swear I heard Poseidon say…_Percy don't do it_…_it's not safe_… But I didn't care. I faded away into a dark abyss that was soon replaced by a warm, yet eerie hall. I walked though the pathway, Riptide at hand, ready for anything that might come my way. But…nothing did. I walked into the darkness…

I twisted and turned to find myself completely lost. I traveled the corridors to find a pair of two pathways. They were exactly the same. There wasn't one difference. I struggled under all of the confusion. Then a thought came to mind. A song! There was a song I'd used to memorize the pathway to the meeting room. I retraced my footprints in the black sandy gravel and found the start of the labyrinth…"_right…left…straight…right…right…straight…left…left…straight…straight…straight…right…left…straight…left…right…straight!"_ it sang in my head. I ran though the maze with ease and I began to hear screams louder and louder…at least until they stopped. I kept running and I felt my heart beat a million times a second. My breath staggered under the pressure of making it in time. Before it was too late. Before he sliced her to death or until she bled to death. I ran into complete darkness for the lamps that kept it light enough to see were blown out. But it didn't matter. I could see the light from the corridor that she was held. I walked stealthy to the door. I caught my breath so I wasn't grasping for air and I planned to duel with Nico.

I walked into the room with a stern face. Nico turned and stepped aside so I could see Thalia sitting on a chair with her hands handcuffed. There were slice marks on her face and on her arms and thank the gods, not on her neck. She barely breathed and she was weak. There were bruises on her face and I fell in pity. I let my guard down. My sadness toward her current injured state turned to hate and anger. I turned around to meet Nico's deathly stare. He played with his bronze knife and I saw as his lips curved into a wicked grin. His eyes were bloodshot red and his teeth were yellow and they were crooked. His garments were shredded and were filthy. He stepped forward and stopped in front of me.

"You remembered the song. How nice!" he said, "I thought you would be lost and at the beginning you were. If only that memory hadn't sparked…I would've gotten the pleasure of slicing her head off."

"You have a twisted mind…" I said. That made his smile disappear and his face turned to curiosity.

"Go on…" he said coldly.

"What happened to the Nico I once knew…You used to hate me but then you learned that I didn't kill Bianca. Why do you hate me-" I stopped. Around his neck. A pendant. I knew it. It was familiar. But why? I turned my gaze to look at Thalia. She was waking up and was studying us. I pretended to scratch my chest and she looked down at her own chest, to mine, to Nico's. Hey eyes widened and she looked back at me and nodded. That pendant. It made you dizzy just looking at it…

"What…are you two looking at?" Nico asked. I hadn't realized it but I was staring at the pendant and so was Thalia.

"OH THIS!" he said and his hand grabbed the necklace and he laced the design with his finger. He looked transfixed by it. He murmured something that sounded like "_my precious_..." and immediately thought that if he was going to quote Golem from Lord of the Rings, he might as well be bald and have nothing except a loincloth, because he totally had the voice down. He'd win grand prize in a costume contest.

"I'm sorry," I said. Nico looked up from his jewelry and he studied my face.

"What?" he asked.

"I said I'm sorry," I replied.

"For what?" he asked. I looked at Thalia who was struggling in the handcuffs. Her hair was always pinned up with hair pins but at the moment, it wasn't. Her hair was down and covering her face. I had sworn that her hair was up a second ago. I looked a Nico and I braced myself and gripped Riptide tighter.

"For this," I said. I lashed out and I heard the clang of two blades. Sparks flew. Nico had a crazed look on his face. He sliced and lunged with great speed, but he wielded his sword carelessly. I parried his attack and I elbowed him in the back. He stumbled at the blow and he turned around to face me. But he was two slow. Riptide lashed out and Nico blocked it with his blade. The force of his blade was too much though. He fell from the force and he fell to the ground. Then Thalia leapt on to him. Thalia? I looked at the chair and found a pile of hair pins and open handcuffs. Oh. My. Gods! She used the hair pins to open the handcuffs! Genius. In an instant, she grabbed the handcuffs and put them on his wrists behind his back. He struggled but he realized that it was too late. He'd lost. I took Riptide and I posed it at his neck. He whimpered in fear. I took the tip of the blade and used it to lasso the pendant. I yanked back. The sting ripped and the pendant went flying. Nico stumbled to the ground and he began to return to his proper self. His eyes became brown again and his teeth were no longer crooked or yellow. His clothes were still the same but he got up and looked as frightened as a puppy. He struggled in the chains and Thalia brought over a hair pin to set him free. Once the handcuffs were off, he rubbed his wrists and stared at us.

"What…where am I? Are we still in Kennewick?" he asked.

"Nope. Greece…" Thalia choked out.

"What happened to you?" Nico asked.

"Nothing too important. But how did you find that pendant?" She replied.

"I found it in the bus. After that I found the alcohol and I drank it and then…I don't remember…" he said.

"Okay…let's get back to the world of the living and get the hell out of the Shadow Land. We focused any energy we had on peaceful thoughts and we found ourselves freezing in the _Orpheus Cemetery_.

"Is this where Orpheus was buried?" he asked.

"Yeah. Let's go get his lyre…" I said. We ran to the car and brought out the shovels. We found the gravestone with no name and we figured that that was it. We dug the whole six feet until we found the wooden coffin. We opened it up and found a man who had looked like he'd been buried today. But there we found the golden lyre of Orpheus…

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Thank you all who read this. Since this is christmas break...I'll be at least getting a chapter a day. Please R&R! Merry Christmas. Hope You liked this strider101. You said that you liked a lot of action so I'm giving you all the action and gore that I can think of. and stuff that's appropriate for the situation. I mean you can't have someone who is getting kicked in the stomach and make them have blood gushing out there back. Unless they were whipped. Whatever. you get what I mean. THANX!**


	10. A Good Night's Sleep?

**Nico's POV**

Ever since Percy had cut the pendant off my neck…I can't explain it. I felt alive. I was happy. I felt like myself again. Thalia told me about all that had happened and I wanted to kill myself for it. I apologized to Thalia and Percy and I felt really bad. Percy and Thalia said that they forgave me and even Percy walked up to me and sat next to me. Whenever I felt bad and depressed, Percy would rub my back saying _it's okay buddy… Everything's going to be fine…You didn't know what you were doing…We forgive you… _Somehow…that didn't make me feel any better…

Percy and Thalia bought a duffle bag at the store and they had spoken perfect Greek! And I understood it. They placed the lyre in the bag and we headed to the nearest Greek library. Not surprisingly, their three story building had two whole floors on mythology. Although we were pretty sure that we would be here until midnight (thank the gods that it was open 24 hours), we narrowed it down to at least three. The Greek librarians told us that they had a large section on the Underworld on the top floor. We ran up the stairs and gasped at the size of the Underworld section. It was the whole room! There were sections on the Furies, Persephone and Hades, a small section on Orpheus, Aeneas, and then Odysseus. We split up. Thalia researched Persephone and Hades. Percy researched Aeneas, and me…I got Odysseus. He had an interesting story. He went to battle with the guidance of Athena. They landed on an island where his crew members were tuned into animals because of a sorceress and then Odysseus didn't drink the wine and he ended up sleeping with the sorceress. He was there for years unknowingly and when he left, he went to Calypso and he was "held captive" by her and her maidens. When Hermes came with a message to let him go, she became sad and Odysseus was given a boat. He was with Calypso for years unknowingly too. Then he traveled to get home by going to the Underworld. How he got the Underworld was interesting. He went to the lake of fire and sacrificed a goat. _Wait… the lake of fire is the Great Lakes in the Americas…_ I thought.

"GUYS!" I said. Thalia and Percy looked up from their books and stared at me.

"What?" Percy asked. Thalia said nothing.

"I think I've found something…" I replied. Percy and Thalia got up from their chairs, set down there books, and walked over.

"What do ya got?" asked Thalia. They looked at me and waited. I told them Odysseus's story, but they told me to get to the point. They were tired and it was 10:00 at night, which seemed about four in the morning in New York.

"To get to the Underworld, Odysseus had to go to the lake of fire, which is the Great Lakes, and sacrifice a goat. I bet we have to get a bottle of water from the lake if fire, and then get a bottle of goat's blood and then when we need to get into the secret corridor to the Underworld, we have to pour the blood into the jar of water. My father told me that the books were wrong and Odysseus poured the blood from the goat in the water. He said the water turned green and then to black. The cave had shook and Odysseus fell into the water. He was then in the Underworld. Cool?" I asked.

"Yeah. That's something to tell the editors. Like they'd believe it…" Thalia said. She was smiling. I'm guessing it was a joke so I chuckled. I saw as her smiled became bigger. Percy looked happy because we didn't have to go grave digging. But then he thought about something.

"Can it be any goat?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure we don't have to find a special goat…" I said. Percy nodded.

"Well, let's get some shut eye and we came by some fancy jars tomorrow. Then we can catch a plane to Chicago, again. It's right on the edge of the lowest Great Lake. Which one is that? … um…Lake Michigan…" Thalia said. Percy and I stared at her.

"What? Didn't you ever take a final on the Great Lakes? " she asked.

"I was in the Lotus Hotel…" I said.

"I couldn't finish one year of school…" Percy said, "I've always blown up the school…" We all laughed.

"Whatever. Well…pick your couch and lets get us some sleep for once," Percy said. We all picked a couch and we fell asleep. Except for me…I thought of me with the pendant. From what Thalia had told me…I had been a monster. I'd stabber her with a sword in the thigh: the thigh that had been sliced by the man in the plane. I began to remember the graveyard before I went to the Shadow Land with Thalia struggling in my arms. I'd said that I'd seen it happen. The fight. I'd seen her get sliced and I'd heard her scream out in pain. I'd done nothing but smile at the pleasure of the sound. I felt terrible now. I had done terrible things to her. I had wanted to slice her head off. I changed the subject of my thoughts for they were giving my nightmares. The image of Thalia in handcuffs. Her bleeding and screaming out in pain whenever I sliced her arm or her arm or her leg. Whenever I poked her thigh. When I had the image of me with a sword and her head flying off her body...I heard something...

CRASH! I woke up startled. I looked around the room from my point of view. I dared not move. I heard footsteps in the room. I felt a breeze of a broken window. I heard him stop at one of the couches. From what I could hear, it was Percy's couch. I heard him take of his sword. Percy was asleep. I got out of the couch as quietly as I could and I ran toward the man with the blade. I heard a voice.

"Drop you weapon…" it said. I stopped. It was Thalia… she walked to my side. I had my sword at hand with out realizing it and she had her bow. The man turned around. He glared at us. He turned is head and asked a simple question, "What?"

I saw Percy toss and turn. _He was a hard sleeper!_ I thought. Thalia drew back her bow. "I said drop your weapon…" she said. I got ready to pounce. The man turned to face the couch. Thalia shot the man in the head. It passed through.

"What?" she said. This time the another man spoke. We felt blades to our backs

"Although he has a bronze sword…he is human. Nothing you do will hurt him," said the man. I thought for a moment. The man by Percy brushed back his cloak and I saw a silver blade. A dagger. I thought for a moment. The man looked ready to stab Percy. _WHY WON'T YOU WAKE UP?_ I planned to charge. I was going to take the dagger and slice his heart. I looked at Thalia and mouthed "run" she nodded and pointed with her finger to her left. I got ready. As the man prepared to stab, I charged at him. Thalia ran to her left and drew her bow and positioned it at the man that was behind us. The man dropped his weapon and backed up. As Thalia said, "That doesn't mean you're a human too," I jumped on the man and grabbed the knife from his pocket. I poke it against his heart. His sword that when flying was caught by another person. Percy.

"It's about time you woke up!" I said.

"I woke up when I heard a crash near my couch. I woke up to find you on that man and a sword flying,"

"You could've woken up when they smashed the window!" Thalia yelled.

"Well what do we have here?" Percy said. I looked at the silver blade and Thalia's bronze arrows, "a human and a demigod or monster in disguise!"

"It doesn't matter. We get to kill them right?" I asked.

"Not yet. But soon!" Percy said, "We need to know why they tried to kill us!"

"You… they tried to kill you…" Thalia said.

"Well don't I feel special…" Percy said, "That doesn't matter…" he bent down to talk to the man. "Who sent you…?" Percy asked. The man didn't speak. Percy looked at me and used his fingers to say a little. I nodded and grinned. I poked the blade into his skin. Percy said stop. I did. The man whimpered.

"Zeus!" he said, "Zeus sent me. Well he sent my friend over their and he invited me to slice you to bits. He knew I wouldn't get hurt by your weapons. But I would get hurt by my own!" He motioned toward me. I smiled.

"Thank you," Percy looked at Thalia. Percy nodded. She shot the man and he fell to the ground. Percy than looked at me and I smiled bigger. I got ready to stab but I felt that I couldn't. Although he tried to kill Percy…he was still innocent. I looked a Percy and he nodded to say he understood. He looked at Thalia and Thalia came over and took the dagger from my hand.

"What?" I asked. Percy pulled me back. Thalia took the dagger and plunged it into his heart. He made a small sound before he stopped breathing. No one spoke.

"I think we should leave the Library…" Percy said, We packed up our things and walked out the door to our car. We headed to a motel and rented a room. Once we got to the pent-house suite, we ran to the beds and fell asleep. I did not think of the things that I did to Thalia. Only the thoughts of me saving Percy's life… I felt nice and courageous and I swear I heard "Thanks, Nico…" before I drifted into a deep sleep…almost deeper than Percy's…

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**This took me over an hour to type because I seriously had no idea what they should find next. I hope you liked it and I might write another chapter tonight or tomorrow. R&R! Please!**


	11. Apollo's Incorrect Haiku

Sorry I haven't been posting. It's Christmas. I know I promised I would but there was family and it would be rude to sit typing at a computer instead of talking to them.

Thanks to all who have read this story and to those who are continuing to read it. Please review. It means a lot to me to hear how other people see my words and opinions.

~Katlover101

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><p><strong>Percy's POV<strong>

We woke up feeling amazing.

"Wow…that's the best sleep I've had in ages…" said Thalia, "Now I need food." We laughed. I wanted to stay here forever, but I needed to get to Annabeth. So we needed to get moving. I missed her so much.

"We'll get her back. I think you, I mean, we can handle Zeus's challenge…" Nico said, nervously.

"Nervous, much?" Thalia said.

"NO!" said Nico, "Well yeah…I know what's guarding the entrance…that I couldn't find…"

"YOU COULDN'T FIND IT?" I yelled. Thalia and I stared at him.

"Well…that's what the blood and water's for, right?" he asked.

"Yeah…" she said and she sighed. Then an important question came to her's and my mind, "What's…guarding it?" Thalia asked. Nico stayed silent and looked at the floor.

"Nico?" I asked.

"What's guarding it?" Thalia asked again. Nico looked at us. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but he faded to darkness.

"DAMN!" Thalia yelled.

"WHAT?" I yelled even louder, "THAT LITTLE CHEAT!" Thalia stared at me with hate and daggers which turned to sadness and tears. "What?" I questioned.

"He's gone…again…" she said.

"I know he'll be back," said a voice. We didn't turn around. "He never wanted to leave," I gripped my pen and Thalia, her dagger. "and I will tell you why…" We spun around to find Apollo and a huge car in the pent house. He stood shining his car.

"Apollo? WHAT ON OLYMPUS ARE YOU DOINING HERE?" Thalia asked.

"No hello?" he asked, "You didn't even compliment my Haiku!" I studied his words and I found a mistake. Again.

"You added a syllable in the last quote," I said. He looked confused. Stupid Apollo. Now I know why Artemis is so annoyed by him, "And – 1st syllable…I – 2nd syllable…will – 3rd syllable…tell – 4th syllable…you – 5th syllable…and last but not least…why – 6th syllable… do you get what I'm saying?" I asked. Apollo hesitated, not taking his eyes off me.

"And I'll tell you why. Five syllables," the god said.

"You're welcome," I said with a smile on my face. He glared and I started to laugh. I walked into the kitchen that was inside the Pent House and grabbed a glass. I opened the fridge and I pulled out a gallon jug of chocolate milk. As I poured my milk into the glass, Thalia faced Apollo and asked, "Where'd Nico go?"

"His father has summoned him again. Hades is always watching his son! He got in a fight with Zeus when he heard that Zeus had been sending assassins to "kill" or, as Zeus says, challenge his son," Apollo replied. Apollo studied the room and walked over to one of the two king-sized beds. Thalia walked over the couch to sit. It was probably hard for her to process it. Apollo jumped on the bed and he sighed. I walked to the other side of the counter, leaned on it, and sipped my cocoa. I studied both of them; Thalia and Apollo. Apollo seemed relaxed and unlikely to do anything else but think of "clever" (sarcastic) Haikus, where as Thalia seemed sad, nervous, and, no offence, scared. The Thalia that I knew wasn't afraid of much. I only new two people's weaknesses: Annabeth and Clarisse. Annabeth, as everyone knows, is deathly afraid of spiders, and Clarisse was afraid of disappointing Ares and she was just plain terrified of him!

"When will he come back?" I asked. Apollo focused his attention on me instead of his now vibrating bed.

"I'm guessing he'll be back between an hour to two…" Apollo replied.

"That gives us time to find to jars and be back in time. But we'll leave a note in case he comes back early!" I said. Thalia nodded. We said our goodbyes to Apollo and we told him to take the car with him. I drank the rest of my milk and put the glass in the sink. As I did this, Thalia, in her best penmanship, wrote a note to Nico and left it on the table. We found out where to buy ceremonial jars, since it seemed appropriate, and we set out to buy a couple. As soon as I closed the door, I put my guard up, constantly gripping the hilt of my pen.

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><p><strong>Annabeth's POV<strong>

After Nico visited me a couple days ago, without Percy and Thalia, I let my hopes down. Nico told me they were captured*******. What if they were killed, tortured, or even…what it they turned them against the Greeks. I'd seen the Romans. They were hardcore beasts! They were treated like animals. I didn't want that of my Percy. What if I was out of the Underworld and he was a Roman for two years. Would he remember me? If he remembered me, would he kill me, or care who I was? Would he love me?

I was filled with questions with unknown answers. I wanted to see Percy again. He was my only hope to being free. Zeus had sent assassins to kill them! That's what everyone who cared had heard Zeus yell. Even Bianca, his daughter had cared. I would talk to her on the boundaries of the Field of Asphodel and Elysium, at least before the ghouls found me and dragged me away. We would talk for hours. When Bianca had told me she wanted to come back to life in a different form, a different body, and an entirely different person, I was shocked, but I had kept quiet and encouraged her. She thanked me. I was going to see her today, but one of the other heroes in Elysium, who had watched me talk to Bianca, told me she vanished. As I walked off, I mumbled to myself, "Good luck on the new life, Bianca, or should I say, daughter of Hades whose identity is unknown to me…" I walked off and thought of more questions that needed answers; answers that brought rest and calmness to my soul.

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><p><strong>***If you were wondering why Nico told Annabeth that Percy and Thalia were captured, Nico was telling her false info. Annabeth wouldn't trust Nico if he told her that he left them since he thought Percy and Thalia loved each other.<strong>


	12. Author's Note

**I will be updateing in a couple days. but not tomorrow. I will be traveling. Sorry!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Someone without a username sent me a review that asked if I was finishing the story or if it was a cliffhanger. To put your heart at ease, I will tell you that it was only a cliffhanger. There is much more action when I get to the end. I haven't found a third item for them to find, so all of you who have read the books remember that Annabeth, Grover, and Percy traveled to the Underworld. They used and item to get them in. Do you remember? It was red and round… guess where they'll be tavelin' after the Great Lakes! Haha Thanks to you who are reading my story!

~Katlover101


	13. I Hear London, I see Death!

**Hey guys! I woke up early to write this and I'm about to leave so I couldn't have it too long. I added as much humor as I could in 40 minutes! ( I type slow)**

**~Katlover101**

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><p><strong>Nico's POV<strong>

Hades screamed at me in fury. He yelled every word possible and Persephone just rolled her eyes. She had told me that Hades is just a big push over and he's not as terrifying as they pictured him in Clash of the Titans. "Dang, Perseus is so hot in that movie!" she said, teasing Hades. I wondered what Percy would say if he didn't know what we were talking about and he heard that come out of the Goddess's mouth. She and I laughed as if having a good time. Hades kept his mouth shut. But now, it was his turn to talk.

He lectured me on the basics and rules (that he was making up as he went along and as he thought of new ones) of being a son/daughter of Hades. Apparently, I was failing all of them.

"Breaking promises, that's one of the worst. How dare you, leave them after you promised to stay with them! And with Thalia!" Hades blurted out.

"What do you _mean_ "And with Thalia!" I yelled back. My eyes burned with hate, anger, and rage. My fists were balled so tight that my knuckles were white and my fingernails that were digging into my hand were piercing them, drawing blood. Drops dripped slowly from my hand. But I didn't care.

"Months ago, you promised to protect her," Hades stated, "And then you are the one to be stabbing her in her thigh with a sword you have _**NO IDEA**_ how to even_ Use!_"

"We broke up!" I countered.

"BECAUSE OF YOUR FAVORITE COLORS? I must say, after all the children I've had, no offence Persephone, your relationship, with one of Zeus's none the less, has been the worst and stupidest!" Hades raged out. Persephone said I looked both hurt and even angrier, if I could be. Then Apollo walked into the room.

"Why are you always IN HERE?" Hades screamed.

"Sorry, but to beg your pardon," Apollo started, in a British accent.

"What's with the British?" I asked Apollo.

"Does it matter?" he asked back. I shook my head. "Well, my dearest friends. I come bringing' two messages that someone told me on the receiver! I told the bloke I'd tell it to ya."

"Well, go on…" Hades said.

"First, do ya got any fish 'n chips?" Apollo asked.

"NO! SAY THE MESSEAGE!" Hades screamed. _Wow! You need anger management lessons, and you say I'M the angry one! _I thought to myself.

"All right! Blimey!" Apollo stared. We stared at him, but Apollo turned to me. "Percy and Thalia went to find jars and they left a note on the table for you when you return. They didn't know when you'd be home." I nodded and then Apollo face Hades.

"And for you, deathly one, Zeus said if you criticize his daughter again, he'll blast you out of the sky, or make you share the same fate as Atlas!" Hades looked offended. "Do ya want to be holdin' up Olympus and the sky? Honestly, It's a brilliant punishment/threat!"

"Get out! BOTH OF YOU!" Hades said.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked.

"_Are you talking to me_…YES!" Hades mocked.

"FINE! What a lovely father/son discussion, wouldn't you agree, Persephone?"

"I'm staying out of it!" she said and she walked off into the next room to play with mini Cerberus. The large one was guarding the gate!

"I'm so GONE!" Apollo screeched. He flew away in a ball of light.

"And then there were two," I said, "but soon to be one."

"Nico…" Hades started. But he was too late. I disappeared into shadow.

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><p>I appeared in the pent house and I found the note on the table.<p>

_Nico~ _

_We realized that you probably need those Father & Son moments, so we left you alone. I hope he didn't torture you with the Furies like last time we interrupted (sorry to bring it up) but Percy and I left to find two jars in the marketplace. Be safe and there's still chocolate milk in the fridge, unless Percy drank the rest. _

_~Thalia and Percy_

I looked at the not and I smiled. "Woohoo! Chocolate milk! I haven't had this in AGES!" I brought out a glass and I waited for the two to come home, hopefully with two ceremonial jars. I sipped and waited…


	14. Just Antother Week of Monsters

**I'm so sorry that I haven't been updating! I've been playing basketball and I don't have time to write!**

**Hope you enjoy this! This took me forever!**

**~Katlover101**

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><p>(Takes place while Nico's with Hades)<p>

**Thalia's POV**

As Percy and I walked through the market place, we looked at all the different tents. There were scorpions, rugs, fried scorpions, baskets of snakes and scorpions, and even candied scorpions! _Wow! These people really like scorpions! They should create a Scorpion Festival! _I laughed to myself at my thought and I kept on walking, persevering to find a ceremonial shop…that sold jars. When I came upon a faint scent of death, I felt near to it and I sensed that Percy smelled it too. He stumbled as the scent that was chocked him to death. He coughed and I heard him breathing hard. I could tell that this wasn't going to end with us walking out with a couple of jars. I stood close to make sure he didn't like faint or something. I asked if he was okay and he just nodded and kept coughing. When the scent was super strong, I looked into the shop that we were standing in front of. Percy sat down on the ground and I told him I'd be back in a second. I walked into the shade of the ceremonial tent and I looked at all the jars. I noticed that they were all full. Some had "Dragon Heartstrings", another had "Phoenix Feathers", and another held "Unicorn Hairs". **(A/N: If anybody got that, these items are all things inside wands in Harry Potter!) **I turned toward the owner.

"Are there any _empty _jars?" I asked to the tiny, fun-sized, bald, man. He nodded before waddling behind the tent. I sighed and rolled my eyes. _I swear the human population is getting smaller each year. Pretty soon, we'll all be two feet tall at the age of 20!_ I thought. I waited for him to come back, so I moved to get a glimpse at Percy to make sure he was okay. He sat there, pale as a vampire. I knew we should get out fast. _If only I could run, with my stupid leg and all…_

The bald man came back holding three jars. They were all decorated to represent an element. The first one, representing water, had carvings of waves slashing on the salty shore. There were fish and shellfish swimming under the waves. I looked at the second one. This was a jar representing Earth. Jewels were engraved on the lid. Designs of mountains and hills towered over the valleys and plains. It looked beautiful. I turned toward the third one. I thought it would represent fire or air, but no. It seemed to represent…blood. Piles of dead people decorated the floor and drips of blood stained the lid. I smiled and I asked for the water one and the blood one. He nodded slowly and walked toward the counter. He told me that the two of them would be 50 silver drachmas. I pulled out my wallet and placed the coins in his hand. He counted them to make sure I didn't cheat him. When he was done counting, he smiled grimly and handed me the jars.

"Have a nice day…" the bald man said coldly. I thanked him and walked to get Percy. Except he wasn't there. I stared in shock and thought, _how many people are going to take PERCY!_ I looked around to see everybody browsing the good under the tent. I looked around and found a tail in the direction that they must have dragged Percy. I followed it, my heart pounding violently.

"_This is SO getting old,_" I said, un-wanting to search any longer. As I went along, the trail split. I prayed to Zeus and he sent a flashing sigh (that I could only see) that pointed to the left. I traveled right. I knew that Zeus would try to mess me up.

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><p><strong>Zeus's POV<strong>

"Wow that is one smart cookie!" I said as I looked down on my beloved daughter.

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><p><strong>Thalia's POV (again)<strong>

The pathway traveled forever but pretty soon, I saw a couple of Dark Angels from the Underworld, equipped with black wings and whips, dragging Percy. Percy looked dazed and he was just letting them drag me. I ran and drew my sword, thank Zeus that I have grown back into my old habit, and charged at the Angels. They dropped Percy and his head smashed into the ground. He instantly shot up and wondered what was going on.

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><p><strong>Percy's POV<strong>

I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and my senses returned to me. I shot up and looked around. I saw Thalia staring at something in the sky with her sword drawn, but I could not see what she was attacking. Something dodged at her right and she blocked it and sliced whatever it was's back. She swung again and I heard the hiss that only came from the Underworld. I knew it wasn't the Furies since I could see those. I just didn't know what to do!

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><p><strong>Thalia's POV (for the third time)<strong>

I dodged left and right, avoiding there whips. I rolled and jumped until I saw Percy sitting there confused.

"YOU CAN HELP ME, YOU KNOW?" I yelled as I sliced another angel's back. It exploded into golden dust and sank into the earth, blending in with the sand.

"You know…I would if I could SEE WHATEVER THE HELL YOU'RE ATTACKING!" He yelled back. I thought and thought before the last angel whipped her whip at me. It wrapped around my thigh. My bad thigh. Metal spikes on the whip dug into my skin and I shrieked out in pain. Percy got up and ran over to help me. He looked for the pain but he couldn't see it.

"IT'S MY THIGH! GET THIS WHIP OFF MY THIGH!" I yelled. He searched for th whip and when he found it, he gripped.

"AHH!" he yelled. Blood flowed from his hand. He gripped again and pulled. The whip let loose of my thigh and I stumbled to the ground. Percy looked around. I looked at the angel.

"HEY! LOOK OVER THERE!" I yelled to it. The angel looked. I grabbed my sword and chucked it at the angel. It flew straight and it hit its mark. The sword passed all the way through its body and then the angel turned to dust. POOF!

Percy helped me up and I told him about what happened. When I showed him the jars, he smiled and thanked me for probably saving his life. We walked back to the hotel. When we returned, I saw Nico on the couch drinking some chocolate milk. When he saw my state and Percy's confused expression, he put the glass down and helped us the couch. Nico bandaged up my leg and I told him what happened. When I showed him the jars, his face froze.

"I've seen these before…" he said.

"Where?" I asked.

"In the Underworld. The full set contains six. One for each of the elements: fire, water, earth, and air. Then there is one for spirit. Finally, the last one is for blood. Someone had traveled to the Underworld during the last winter solstice and stole three of them; water, earth and blood. Coincidence?" he asked.

"That's awkward…" Percy commented.

"I'll agree with that!" I said.

…

We stopped by the harbor to catch the cruise ship we were going to use to get back to the US. I grabbed my bags and walked up the walkway to get onto the ship. When Percy smelled the fresh air, he felt at home. I looked out into the ocean and I gasped at the beauty. Nico looked about to throw up. We looked for our room. We walked every pathway. We passed other passengers and they always asked what happen to my thigh. I just told them I had a surgery. We found the room.

…

After three days of sailing, I began to relax. I laid on the bed and closed my eyes, I traveled to the spa. I did my things. The boys did whatever they wanted. When I walked to the smoothie bar, I noticed a group of passengers staring at me. I decided to ignore them

…

A week has passed. And there was only an hour until we reached our destination: Portland, Main. There were forests and epic scenery. I could barely see the main land. It was just a shadow. I walked to a passenger I had been talking too this whole trip.

"OH! Isn't that cool? I can see Maine!" I said. I pointed and she looked confused.

"No it's not…We're an hour away! We shouldn't be able to see it. And all I see is a cloud of fog or mist…You're probably seeing that too!" she said and she walked away. I stared and thought about what she said. _Mist…_I thought. Then it hit me. _Oh no…I have to warn Percy and Nico._ I ran to find them. I found them in a drinking contest surrounded by a whole bunch of other passengers. The objective was to see who could drink the X-Large milkshake the fastest. Percy was winning.

"Percy…Nico…" I said when they were done.

"What?" they asked simultaneously.

"You might want to check this out…" I said and I walked to the bow of the boat. They followed me and when I pointed to the shadow, their happiness level dropped to –infinity. The shadow moved left and right, almost like a snake.

"Sea serpent…" Percy explained, "Great!" It was gaining speed and eventually we saw the head clearly. It hissed at us and it smashed his head into the boat. The passengers screamed and wondered what it was. Percy took out his pen and Riptide appeared.

"FINALLY!" Percy yelled, "SOMETHING I CAN _SEE_!" I laughed. I pulled out my sword and Nico grabbed some forks and knives on the tables. He threw them at it and one manages to hit his eye. It roared out in pain and his head smashed into the front of the boat. The people still screamed even though they were at the back of the boat. I slashed my sword and cut its tongue. He head butted me and I flew against a wall. Percy slashed and diced but the most interesting thing happened. It ate him.

"NO!" I screamed. I got up and tried to save him but Nico pulled me back. I felt sad and I fell to the ground. The serpent started to go back to the depths of the ocean but something stopped it. It moved up and it stared at his stomach. We looked there too and there was this bulge that was poking at the inside of the snake.

"Is that…Percy?" Nico asked. We found out our answer. A bronze blade stabbed its way through the belly and guts poured out along with Percy.

"Yeah…I'm going to be sick…I probably will starve to death now that I don't want to eat…" Nico said. Percy got up and he said that we should probably get away from here. We jumped into the ocean and the currents pulled me under. Pressure built up in my head until it faded away. I saw Percy and Nico and they seemed fine and breathing. I opened my airways and took a giant breath. I didn't die. We walked in Percy's protective bubble until we saw the bottom of the ocean rise. We were getting close to land. When we got to shore, I was surprised hat my clothes weren't wet. We looked around in the forest and we decided to head inside. Deep dark creatures surrounded us but we kept on going. Over trees, under trees, to the side of trees, and even under the rocks! We set up camp and we ate some bacon and slept under the star…I dreamed of being with Nico but it turned into a nightmare when I saw him eaten b the giant snake. I awoke and Nico and Percy were staring at me, and blocking something from view.

"What?" I said, "I had a bad dream!" Nico and Percy separated. I saw a flash of silver and braided hair.

"Thalia, the Hunt would like to give you a second chance…" said Artemis and she held out a bow. I hesitated but I took it gracefully from her hand…

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**If you didn't get that, Thalia just rejoined the Hunt! **


	15. Four A's!

**Percy's POV**

We walked in the forest on our way to the Great Lakes. We were being accompanied by Artemis and her Hunt. This would end in a disaster…

"So…" Thalia asked Artemis, "Why are you letting me rejoin?" Artemis kept on walking.

"That's classified…" she said. Dead serious.

"But WHY?" Thalia whined. Artemis glared at her then focused on the road ahead of us.

"As I said, that's classified." Thalia had shut up and began to stare at the ground. There was an awkward silence. After like a hundred miles, we sat and rested. The hunters took out some nectar and ambrosia and handed it to Artemis. They gave us some granola bars.

"I'm not trying to complain, but…granola bars?" I asked. The hunters laughed with Artemis.

"No…it's a granola bar infused with the right amount of ambrosia!" the goddess said. The hunters snickered and I quietly ate my godly granola.

…

More awkward silence…

…

* * *

><p>We began to move again after about a half an hour later. The forest went on and on and ON but we still kept moving.<p>

"Are we there yet?" Nico whined.

"No," replied a hunter.

"What about now?" he asked again.

"Nada…" said a different hunter. Nico paused for a second.

"What about–" Nico started.

"OH WILL SOMEONE GET THE DUCK TAPE!" yelled Artemis, clearly being annoyed. The rest of the way Nico was embarrassed by his vibrant colors of Hello Kitty duck tape over his lips. I took a picture.

* * *

><p>When we got to Lake Michigan, it felt like my legs were going to fall off. I wadded into the lake knee dept and I felt my energy return. Nice took out the water jar and filled it from the lake. I didn't know how this was called the Lake of Fire but as I stared at it from miles away, flame danced across the glassy water.<p>

When we were ready to head on to find a goat, three balls of glowing light appeared in front of us. Everyone, except Artemis, averted their eyes. When the light dimmed, Aphrodite, Ares and Apollo were staring at us.

"Hey, little sis!" Apollo said. "Wait! All our names start with A!"

"SHUT UP!" she screamed. Birds flew away from the tops of trees because of the echo.

"Sorry…" Apollo apologized.

"Well…" Artemis said and she focused her attention on the two other gods and her idiot brother.

"I think it's just ADORABLE that you're doing this for Annabeth, it shows true love!" Aphrodite crooned to me, "I just which that _HEPHAESTUS_ would do something like THAT!" She yelled. Fire rose from the lake. "Yeah! That's right!" she yelled at the lake. I was confused.

"I'm here because she dragged me along and to give you this…" Ares said. He pulled out a net. "They fly…" he explained.

"What flies?" Nico asked after a hunter ripped the duck tape off his face, when he couldn't get it off.

"The goats, you moron!" Ares yelled annoyed. Apparently every god except Hades was annoyed by Nico. Ares threw me the net and then disappeared.

"ARES, MY LOVE!" Aphrodite screamed and she disappeared after Ares.

"Take me with you!" Artemis said. She stared at her brother and then sighed. "Apollo why are you here…?" She asked him

"To say hi!" he said. Then he noticed the roll of Hello Kitty duck tape. "OMG! That's been sold out for years! Can I have it?" Apollo asked. Artemis smiled…deviously.

* * *

><p>"Mph…hum humph hum hum humph!" muffled Apollo as he marveled over the duck tape over his mouth. He held the roll in his hand and then left. Artemis gave the hunters high-fives. "That was AWESOME!" she yelled. Thalia laughed.<p>

"Alrighty then!" said Nico, "Let's go catch some flying sheep!"

Everyone yelled, "GOATS! Idiot!" Nico put the piece of duck tape back over his mouth.

* * *

><p><strong>HEY! Sorry for the short chapter! Hope you liked it!<strong>

**~Katlover101**


	16. Deadly Goats

**Hey! More ideas are popping up and I know what happens at the end! YAY! There are some really stupid parts in this chapter, just a heads up. Sometimes I just ramble on and on with random ideas and discussions! In fact I didn't mean to write Apollo wanting the duck tape but I wanted some humor! Thankx guys for reading!**

**~Katlover101**

Nico's POV

My face stung from the duck tape that was brutally ripped off my lips. Percy was constantly taking pictures of the red rectangle that lay upon my face. I wanted to kill him but we had to get a flying sheep, I mean goat…

"UGH!" I grudged. "How long will this TAKE?"

"We still have at least ten minutes to the field!" said Thalia enthusiastically. Just what I feared…

"So…?" I asked. Thalia glanced from the road to look at me.

"What?" she said confused.

"Nothing!" I quickly said.

"What!" she asked again. I didn't answer her. I tried to think…

"WHAT!" she demanded. Her fists were balled and her eyes showed the fury of a daughter of Zeus.

"I said nothing! I guess I forgot!" I explained. I wasn't lying! I had seriously forgotten! I wonder what I wanted to say…this quest was tiring me out! Thalia gave me the stink eye and I felt the temperature drop at least twelve degrees. She felt it too since she was looking around and her hands were rubbing her exposed arms. I pulled out my dagger the Hunters gave me. _When did they carry daggers?_ I thought.

_Since when do _you_ carry daggers? _said a voice in my head. I shook out the words and tried to focus on the getting a goat. But I felt weird as I realized those word were true. I hadn't truly used a blade in my life! I couldn't even kill the man who tried to kill Percy! Yet I could stab Thalia's leg in the graveyard! I don't care if I was practically under a pendant's spell! What I did was wrong! Ugh…

When I saw the light outside of the forest, I was eager to get to it. Being in a dark forest searching for a field wasn't my favorite pastime. I'd rather be eating cupcakes or talking to my buddy Mrs. O'Leary! Good Hellhound! I snickered and I trotted to get into the light. Except I didn't get there…Artemis's arm blocked my path.

"Stay back…" she warned. She motioned for the Hunters to stay there and Percy and I stayed too. She crept behind a tree and glared into the light. A beam of fire exploded from the field, almost burning my hair! I stepped back and pulled out the dagger, Percy pulled out Riptide and pulled of the cap, and the Hunters knocked their arrows. W crept into the light and it blinded us for a second. When our eyes got used to the light, I saw what we were facing: Fire-breathing, flying, cannibal, goats.

"So much for herbivores…" I sighed and dodged a goat. Percy pulled out the net and get ready to catch the nearest goat. He swung at the goat, but the goat breathed fire and burned the net to a crisp.

"DANG IT!" Percy yelled and he threw it the ground.

"Well, I guess that fire's their strength! If that's their strength, what's there weakness?" asked Artemis.

Percy perked up. "Water!" He screamed. The goats hissed at the word and backed up, eyeing the demigods and the goddess.

"Looks like they're familiar with that word!" said Thalia.

"No really?" I said sarcastically. I thought I saw Thalia pull the finger but I was probably imagining that.

"What's the plan?" Percy asked.

"Well, what's kinda stupid is that there's a stream over there," Artemis said. She pointed at Percy, "Ya might want to go check that out…" Percy ran from the group.

"After we fizzle out the–" I started. Everyone stared at me.

"WHAT?" I asked.

"_Fizzle out?_ Why on Olympus did you say fizzle out?" Thalia asked me. I said nothing. "My point exactly…"

"Well, we can "drown" them with water, making it impossible for them to shoot fire…" A hunter said.

"That's what "fizzle out" means…" Artemis said.

"Really?" replied the hunter.

"Yeah…" I said.

"Well, judging by their wings, I don't think they can fly if they're splashed with water," said Thalia.

"I can just drench one in water and we have ourselves a fire-breathing, flying goat!" Percy said. A goat flew over our heads and tried to scorch us, but we dodged to the right.

"Well, let's get crackin'!" I said.

"Again, someone get the duck tape! Wait, wasn't that the last of the duck tape that we gave Apollo?" Artemis asked. The hunters nodded. "HADES!" Artemis cursed. We got to work. We dodged the goats as Percy focused on the stream. His hands waved back and forth, socializing with the water. His hand lifted and the water went into the air. The goats hissed and backed off. With a flick of his wrist, Percy sent the water to dodge a fireball that was shot at him. He swayed with the breeze and eventually locked target. HE shoved the water toward the goats. The goats screamed and tried to dodge but the water was faster. At the same moment the water touched the goats, they fell to the ground. We ran to one and cut its leg. It shrieked but it didn't kill it. Nico pulled out the blood jar. They positioned the goat over the bottle and the blood spilled out of the goat. The goat moaned and looked worn-out. We didn't want to kill it so we wrapped the leg and treated it with nectar. Not a good idea. The goat went extreme and went rouge. It itself was a time bomb. It whizzed through the air and detonated in the middle of the field. We were flown back into the trees. We were exposed to the pieces of goat debris and we were splattered with goat guts.

"EWW! THIS IS NASTY!" yelled a hunter.

"Stop your complaining! I was eaten by a sea serpent! I cut my way out of its stomach!" Percy yelled.

"Thanks for that image, Jackson," A melodious voice said behind us. We turned to find Demeter.

"Your welcome!" Percy said proudly. Demeter rolled her eyes.

"We must be popular! So many gods are visiting us!" I said.

"Is he always this annoying?" the wind blew the harvest field behind us as she spoke.

"Yeah…" Thalia said.

"Thanks for backing me up…" I said sarcastically. She smirked at me. I stuck my tongue out at her. Wow…I'm so mature.

Percy grabbed out his left over granola bar. Demeter beamed.

"Well, I hope everybody enjoyed my ambrosia and nectar granola bars!" she said.

"At least it wasn't cereal…" mumbled a hunter.

"WHAT ABOUT MY CEREAL?" demanded the goddess.

"Chill out, Auntie," said Artemis.

"I told you not to call me that!" Demeter raged.

"What are you going to do? Throw grain at me?" asked Artemis.

"Okay…!" Thalia interrupted.

"What?" Demeter asked, "No cereal?"

"Yeah…last time I puked…" said a hunter that I didn't even know was there.

"Don't criticize a god…" Artemis said. Demeter agreed.

"So what are you all doing in my field?" asked Demeter.

"We were fighting goats!" I said proudly.

"You mean my goats?" she asked.

"Well, if–" I started.

"No, some other ones that we saw in this field!" said Thalia.

"Oh! If you had hurt one of my fire-breathing, flying goats, I would call on my wheat to strangle you!" she said with a smile. I gulped.

"Well, we out to be off!" Percy said.

"Alright! DON'T MESS IN MY FIELD AGAIN, and maybe I won't kill you…" Demeter said. We all said goodbye and traveled into the forest again. Artemis confronted us.

"This is the point where we leave you," said the goddess. Percy and I sighed. Even Thalia looked sad. The hunters, except for Thalia, and Artemis left to give the three of us some alone time.

"Well, I hope I'll see you guys around sometime!" she said. I nodded. We said our goodbyes and we both hugged Thalia. Artemis didn't look to happy about the hugs.

…

The hunters left at dawn and we started to continue to the nearest city.

"Well, it's time to find us that last item, whatever the heck it is…" I said. Percy smirked.

"I think I got an idea…" he laughed and we walked off the highway, back into Chicago…

**Hope you liked this! Someone told me to make it longer and I made it as long as I could! Thanks y'all! Hahaha =)**


	17. Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum, on His Face!

**Hey! Hope you will like this chapter!**

**~Katlover101**

* * *

><p><strong>Percy's POV<strong>

We walked in a park that was close to the motel that we were staying in for the night. It wasn't as fancy as the Pent House suite in Greece, but I would do. Nico held a crap load of Diet Coke and a lot of tacos for the ritual so we could talk to Annabeth. _I think I'd drink all of that soda if I could! Hahaha_ I thought to myself. We found the perfect place out of sight, deep in the trees. Nico did his little ceremony and I was still astonished by it! The way he spoke and chanted made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. Slowly but in due time, Annabeth materialized. She seemed lonely, but the color returned to her face when she saw me.

"Percy!" she yelled she ran to hug me but I backed up.

"Remember, you can't touch us or else the connection fades!" I said.

"Oh yeah…" she seemed disappointed and I was too. "How'd you escape? And where's Thalia?"

"Artemis let her rejoin but we don't know exactly why, and what do you mean by escape?" I asked. She looked confused herself.

"Nico told me–" she started.

"Nico talked to you?" I yelled as I interrupted her. I turned toward Nico angrily. He seemed sad.

"Yeah…It was only him… I asked where you and Thalia were, and he said you were captured…I figured that he was working on a plan to save you but he was sure that you were dead…" she explained.

"I wasn't captured…" I said.

"Then where were you?" she asked desperately.

"Nico left us. He was drunk and he had a magic pendant that basically turned him against everyone but himself. He hurt Thalia with a sword and he almost made me kill him…" I said. Nico left and was nowhere to be seen.

"I can't believe it…I thought you were dead…" she marveled. "Wait; tell me about Thalia…no one can rejoin the Hunt once gone!"

"Well, we just escaped off a cruise ship that was attacked by a sea serpent that ate me, I'll explain that later… and we needed to get to Lake Michigan. The great lakes is the Lake of Fire in five separate lakes, which is weird. So before we got there, we had to sleep. When Thalia woke up, Artemis was letting Thalia rejoin! After that, we traveled to Lake Michigan, got some water then we when to, as it turned out, Demeter's field with her special goats and we took some blood without killing one. After THAT we said our goodbyes and now we're in Chicago!" I explained. Annabeth took this in silently.

When she had it processed, she said, "Well, that sounds fun! Well a lot more fun than wandering throughout the Fields of Asphodel!"

"Wait! You didn't get to Elysium?" I asked. HOW COULD SHE NOT GET TO ELYSIUM?

"I don't know how exactly, but I didn't!" she said annoyed at the topic. "Did you know that Bianca came back to life as another person?"

"Yeah I think I heard Nico say that when he was sleeping. He talks in his sleep," I said.

"Hey! So do you! And you drool!" she said. My ears turned red from embarrassment.

"So…you told me this on my first day of camp! No need to be repeated," I said back calmly. Nico sulked back, his eyes red from crying.

"Nico? What's wrong?" Annabeth asked.

"It's nothing…" he replied, staring at the ground. I mouthed to Annabeth _I wouldn't bug him about that. He's had a rough quest…_. She nodded back to me. She looked behind me and gasped than smacked her hand on her forehead.

"What?" I asked.

"Turn around…" she mumbled. I turned to see a little kid with a balloon in his hand and popped bubble gum around his lips and face as if he just popped it.

"Uh…hi!" I said. The little kid screamed and ran away, letting go of his balloon which popped from the tree branches.

"We should get going!" Nico said as his mood popped back up like the balloon, almost instantly.

"I love you, Annabeth!" I yelled.

"I love you too! Percy WAIT!" she said but it was too late. She vaporized and Nico and I were left standing in the middle of the trees. A shriek interrupted the silence. Nico and I looked up to see an Erinyes stalking us from above. It's screech blood curdling, the blood dripping from its eyes horrifying, and its dragon-like wings fearful. My head swirled from the sight of it, but Nico didn't seem dazed.

"Percy, come on!" yelled Nico, but I just stood there. "PERCY!"

"I-I can't stop…_looking_ at it…" I said in a trance. It dived, claws ready to kill, but I still didn't move.

"PERCY!" Nico yelled one last time. It was 30 feet away, 25, 20, 10. I felt the impact but no claws. I still felt dazed and I stayed sprawled out on the ground. Something rustled around me. I expected it to be the Erinyes but it was Nico.

"Percy?" he asked as he pushed my body so I was facing the clouds. In his hands was Riptide. "Why didn't you move?"

"I…couldn't…" I said, my head throbbing.

"Yeah you can! It's called move one foot forward and then the other!" he said.

"Well, I know that!" I snapped.

"Then why _didn't_ you?" he asked.

"I don't know! I think I looked at it and it was like I was under a spell! I couldn't think!" I said. I started to try to sit up.

"You're lucky that I pushed you out of the way then!" he explained.

"Why do you have Riptide?" I asked him. He hesitated.

"Erinyeses were created from Uranus's blood, kinda like how Aphrodite was made from the foam in the water that was made by the pieces of Uranus's body that was dumped there? Erinyeses also can be like assassins. They don't stop trying to kill you unless you kill them. I don't have a weapon. When I pushed you out of the way, I grabbed the pen, uncapped it and I swang at it!" He said. He capped the blade and handed it back to me.

"You mean that you swung at it!" I said.

"Did I say "swamg"?" he asked.

"Yeah…" I said. I laughed even though it hurt. "I guess I should tell you thanks."

"You guess?" he asked. We laughed and got up.

"Where is it, honey?" a woman said behind us.

"THERE THEY ARE!" said the little boy that had seen us earlier. The woman asked us if we were doing any "magic" but we denied her very convincingly. She scolder her son and told him not to lie.

"Well, so much for getting out of there!" I said and we headed to the motel to get back to business.

* * *

><p><strong>Erinyes- they are Greek mythology but they aren't assassins. At least I don't think they are. They also have a doggish body and they don't have dragon wings. They have bird or bat wings.<strong>

**Hope you liked it!**


	18. Annoyance

**Hope you like this new chapter! Kinda stupid but I was bored. Also hope you thought it was a bit funny!**

**~Katlover101**

* * *

><p><strong>Percy's POV<strong>

We got to the hotel in about ten minutes of walking.

"So you said that you have an idea?" Nico asked. I planted a grin on my face.

"On my first quest, Annabeth, Grover and I traveled and successfully got into the underworld. We used an object!" I told him.

"Well, what was it?"

"A red rubber ball…" I said.

"Well that's not very heroic!" Nico complained.

"BUT IT'S THE THIRD ITEM!" I shouted. "And we'll get to Annabeth faster"

"Where did you get it?" He asked.

"A water-park that was closed. But I don't think it can be that easy. I think we have to get the original ball," I said.

"Where is it then?" Nico asked impatiently.

"The Underworld…"

"Great…"

"Yeah…"

"With who?"

"Cerberus…"

"Oh great…"

"yeah…"

"So we have to travel to the Underworld?"

"yeah…"

"Great!"

"I know…"

"I wasn't being sarcastic,"

"I know…"

"Are you going to keep saying 'yeah' and 'I know'?"

"yeah…"

"Hmm…I am the greatest man alive!"

"…"

"Are you there?"

"yeah…"

"Do you agree?"

"…"

"You're not going to answer, are you?"

"yeah…"

"You should shut up!"

"I know…"

"Will you shut!"

"yeah…"

"Thank you!"

"yeah…"

"What was that Jackson?"

"I know…"

"Then what was it?"

"Yeah…"

"yeah what?"

"I know…"

"SHUT UP!"

"yeah…" I was having fun with this!

…

**Nico's POV**

Percy kept going on and on with the 'yeah' and 'I know'. Honestly, I'd kill him right now.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"I know…"

"What? How could you know?"

"I know…"

"So can I kill you?"

"I know…"

"Does that mean 'no'?"

"yeah…"

"Are we probably going to get killed in the Underworld?"

"yeah…"

"OH GREAT!"

"yeah…"

"Oh just shut up…up…up…up… is there an echo in here? SHUT UP!"

"yeah…"

"I'm seriously going to kill you!"

"I know…"

**Percy's POV**

After a couple hours of annoying Nico, my mood has lifted.

"Nico! We should book a flight to California!" I said.

"What about Zeus?" He asked.

"I'll Iris message Thalia and tell her to make sure he's in a good mood. Athena also did say that he had a soft spot for me, at least if I ever believe that…"

"Kay! I'll go to the airport and book it on the computers there!" Nico said and he rushed out the door.

"Oh Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering!" I chanted. I flipped the gold into the air and said, "Thalia Grace…" the gold disappeared into the air and Thalia materialized under a waterfall. She turned.

"Oh my GODS, you SCARED me…" Thalia said and she gripped her chest.

"Sorry! No cell phones, you know?"

"yeah I guess…" Thalia said and she flipped back her wet hair.

"I'm guessing that it's good I called now instead of earlier!"

"Yeah…I'd say you'd be right!"

"Hahaha…yeah, so just wondering, can you tell your dad to not blast us out of the sky? We're flying to California…" I said.

"Yeah…might as well, at least that means you know where the third item is!" she seemed excited.

"Yeah…" I said. She flipped her hair again and squeezed the water out. "Thanks!"

"Bye, Jackson…" she said and I waved my hand through the mist, breaking the signal.

I began to think of finally getting Annabeth. We'd book a flight to California! Nico's on the internet. Wait! NICO'S ON THE INTERNET? great… he's going to get mauled by monsters! I ran out the door towards the Chicago airport and ran to save Nico's sorry, little ass…

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><p><strong>Sorry for the cussing there, I wanted it to seem that Percy's annoyed and not "OH NO! I MUST GO SAVE HIM!" that's not the Percy way…<strong>

**~Katlover101**

**P.S. Please review to tell me if you liked this…I know it's not the BEST chapter but, I would appreciate if you told me that this sucked or not. It probably does. Thanks! **


	19. Men, there always staring!

**Hey! I've been really busy so I'm sorry that I haven't been able to update. You know…with basketball, volleyball, _AND_ school/homework, it's so hard. But I love you guys too much to not update. I'm sorry if it ends up short but I'm doing my best! **

**Thankx!**

**~Katlover101**

* * *

><p><strong>Nico's POV<strong>

I walked on the sidewalk and I looked at the huge airport in front of me.

"Oh don't you love Chicago?" I asked myself. "I do as long as I don't get mugged!" I kept walking until I got to the door. I gasped at the vast crowds of people, all looking to get out of Chicago. I looked from the gift-shops to the food court. More people, some, I could tell were demigods and there were some monsters prowling in the crowds, searching for the source of the demigod scent. _I'll be sure to avoid those…_ I thought. I scanned the perimeter for the free computers that I could use to book a flight to LA.

"All these planes are going to kill me!" I muttered. I thanked Hermes for the fast internet and I booked the flight for later that evening. "Perfect" I congratulated myself, but I stopped when I saw a shift in the crowd. Red glowing eyes and hisses drove me wild.

"Oh yeah…I forgot about computers…they're just like phones!" I growled at myself for being so stupid.

"Hey watch out!" yelled a girl about my age. Hellhounds pounced toward me.

"HOW THE HADES DID THEY GET IN HERE?" I yelled and I dodged every one.

"Nico!" Someone yelled, obviously someone I knew. Thump! Percy ran into the glass door and fell to the floor.

"My hero…" I sneered. He got up and glared. His attention turned to the hellhounds.

"We should probably worry about the hellhounds," Percy suggested.

"Really? Thanks, I didn't realize that!" I said, my voice weaved with sarcasm.

"DON'T MOCK ME OR WE'LL BE KILLED!" Percy yelled.

"WHY DON'T YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP AND KILL THE DANG THINGS!" the girl that had watched my back said. She stared into my eyes and I was shocked and mesmerized by her deep, comforting, blue eyes. Her dark chocolate brown hair flowed gently down her back and it wisped away in the breeze of the people running by, now screaming. She was really pretty and I didn't realize that I was staring. Although, she did.

"Um…" she said uncomfortable, "can I help you with something, or are you just going to keep checking me out?" Her hand was on her hip and he face looked both amused and frightened.

"OH! Sorry…" I said and I started to turn around, until her grip stopped me.

"I'm Bridgette," she said and she looked deep into my eyes.

"Nico," I replied. She smiled at the sound of my name.

"BRIDGETTE!" a curly chocolate brown haired girl with brown eyes yelled, "ELIDA'S HYPERVENTILATING!"

"I'll be there in a sec, Anna!" Bridgette yelled back. She smiled at me and said that she'd talk to me later.

She ran to help Annalisa calm down the hyperventilating Elida.

"NICO!" Percy yelled. "I NEED A LITTLE HELP! AND IT'D BE NICE IF YOU COULD STOP FLIRTING WITH THAT GIRL!" I blushed. Bridgette turned her head, obviously hearing him, and I saw her face redden too.

"I here!" I yelled to him as I walked back on the battle scene. Everyone was now evacuated and the girls, the hounds, Percy and I were the only ones in there. Whenever there was a howl or a clash of teeth and blade, it echoed in every corner of the large room. I kept kicking the hounds back far enough to stay alive and I was surprised at how strong my kicks were. After I kicked the dogs, Percy stabbed them and glittering dust was left in there place. When I tried to kick the alpha leader of the pack in the nose, its reflexes were faster and its mouth bit onto my foot.

"AHHH!" I screeched out, in serious pain.

"Nico!" I heard Bridgette yell and I heard her footsteps echo.

"Stay back!" I warned her but she didn't listen. Her footsteps quickened and she was now running at full speed. Another set of footprints followed hers and now both Anna and Bridgette were running full speed. They each pulled out bronze blades and they lunged at the beast on my leg. Bridgette's blade pierced the back of the alpha and Anna's blade sliced its head and neck. Blood poured out of the wound and they both sheathed their blades.

"Where on Olympus, I mean, earth did that come from?" Percy asked.

"Haha…It's okay. We're both demigods. Actually all three of us are demigods. We were being chased by those hell hounds when we ran in here. I saw you and I realized you were Hades son. I saw Percy behind you too. Anna and I are daughters of Athena and Elida's a daughter of Apollo," Bridgette explained.

"Yeah…" Elida said as she limped over.

"Wait, do you know of Camp Half-Blood?" I asked.

"Yeah. We are really new. We were just summoned for a quest." Anna explained. Then her eyes widened.

"WE DID IT!" She yelled. "We completed the quest!" Then Bridgette saw it too.

"OMG! It's you two! Where's Thalia?" she asked.

"She rejoined the hunt, and wait what's going on?" Percy asked.

"We were sent on a quest to find you three, well now two," Elida explained.

"That's a weird quest! I've never heard of one like that!" I said.

"We'll talk about it later! Come on!" Bridgette said and we followed her into the heart of the airport…


	20. Steerpike the  Flying Headgehog!

**Hey guys! Hope you like this! The characters are based off my friends, but thier names are spelled wrong and I changed their appearances. Hope you like it!**

**~Katlover101**

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><p><strong>Bridgette's POV<strong>

I explained all about the quest while the other's feasted on some Panda Express.

"So there are others?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, a ton!" Anna said.

"I'LL GO GET THEM!" Elida volunteered.

"o…k?" the rest of us said. Then Elida ran off limping up a set of stair to find their friends.

"So…B-ridge?" Nico asked.

"WHAT? B-ridge?" I wondered.

"Yeah! It's a nick-name!" Nico explained. He blushed.

"Okay…" I said unsure.

"Yeah so I was wondering who you're godly parent is!"

"OH! Athena, just like Anna!" I said.

"Humph!" Anna muttered, watching the Ring on her iPod touch.

"I FOUND THEM!" Elida yelled as she limped toward the stairs. At least ten people were following her. Suddenly, Elida tripped and she stumbled down the stairs.

"NOOOOO!" she yelled as she fell from step to step. "STEERPIKE!" Her magical combat hedgehog flew out of her pocket and went soaring into the air. With its arms stretched out, it dived at us until Anna caught it.

"OWW! IT BIT ME!" she yelled.

"STEERPIKE ATTACK!" Elida yelled as she kept falling down the flight of stairs. The hedgehog curled up in a little ball in Anna's hand and fell to sleep.

"STUPID HEDGEHOG!" Elida yelled.

"I HATE YOU!" Anna yelled and she chucked the hedgehog across the room.

"NOOOOOO!" Elida yelled and she got up after reaching the bottom and launched toward Steerpike. She caught it in mid air, and then crashed to the floor.

"Awkward!" yelled a guy with brown hair who walked down the stairs.

"I agree!" said a ginger with really green eyes.

"OMG! IT'S THE MONSTER!" I yelled. then a girl with blond hair and blue-ish gray eyes jumped from the balcony above and yelled! "WHERE?"

"ON THE STAIRS!" I replied. She turned and pulled out a dagger. When she saw the other demigods, she put it away and held her hand to her forehead.

"That's the MAN-ster, not MON-ster!" the girl said.

"OH WHATEVER, MARIA!" I yelled.

"CRACK HEAD!" Maria yelled at the ginger, "GET DOWN HERE!"

"huh?" Crack head said, obviously dazed.

"Would you give him a break?" the Manster said. he turned and yelled at a white headed guy, a reddish blond haired girl, a blondish-brown haired guy, and another blondish-brown haired guy, but with glasses.

"Hi!" Elida said as she came back to the group cradling Steerpike. "This is, 'That Nerdy White Kid', Tony, Davido, Lauren, Maria, the Manster, and Crack Head."

"Hey," They all said and waved.

"Uh…hi…"Percy said unsure. "Who is who?" Maria stepped forward.

"Well, I'm Maria! Daughter of Athena, Just to let you know, I don't talk much…" she said in a voice that I could barely hear. Then the ginger stepped forward.

"I'm Crack Head, but my real name's Sam. Um…son of Hephaestus. Just lettin' you know!" The ginger said.

"I'm the Manster! But my real name's Manny. Son of Dionysus. I'm kinda famous of the group…I also haven't been seen in the past um…two months? Three?" said Manny.

"You've only been gone three weeks. Try not to lie, or exaggerate as you put it!" Anna snapped at him. I giggled.

"I'm 'that nerdy white kid', son of Apollo, like Elida," said the whitish haired guy. Elida looked annoyed. "Don't worry, I'm not offended. You know, my the name."

"I'm Lauren. As you tell, I'm a daughter of Aphrodite!" the reddish blonde announced as she fiddled with her hair and examined her hair.

"I'm Davido and this is Tony, short for Anthony, We're sons of Hermes! GO TRAVELERS!" said the blondish-brown with glasses.

"ALRIGHT! Did we get everybody?" I asked. They all murmured and nodded in agreement. "okay, I say let's go visit Chiron!"

"He's here?" Nico asked.

"No… Iris Message, DUH!" Anna replied. I loved her attitude toward guys.

"right…" he replied. I giggled a bit.

"Oh goddess of the rainbow! Please except our offering!" David said. "Uh…Chiron."

"Um…get me a turkey club, coleslaw. Okay thanks, wait what? … oh um Cherry Coke!" Chiron said to a camper who was taking his dinner order. He was startled to find a line of demigods (who were secretly blocking Percy and Nico) starting at him.

"OH! You almost gave me a heart-attack!" he said.

"Chiron! We have a surprise!" Lauren said enthusiastically, while Anna rolled her eyes. We stepped aside to let Chiron see Percy and Nico.

"PERCY! NICO! MY BOYS!" Chiron said. "Where's Thalia?" Percy explained about their whole trip and about Artemis letting Thalia rejoin.

"Oh…that's too bad!" he said.

"So where are you going next?" asked That Nerdy White Kid.

"Um... Kennewick!" Nico said.

"YOU MEAN KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON?" Elida asked. Percy and Nico nodded.

"I USED TO LIVE THERE!"

"Do you know the streets?" I asked.

"BY HEART!" said Elida. A_ little too hyper for my taste…_ I thought.

"Can she come with us? What about all of them?" Nico asked.

"Sure…but they can't go to the Underworld. That's your job.

"THANK YOU!" Elida said and she rushed to hug the mist, but she disrupted the signal.

We heard a voice on the intercom say that all flights were to stay on schedule.

"Well, let's get going!" I said and we ran to grab luggage and check us in.


	21. Hollywood Wannabe's!

**Hey! Sorry I haven't posted in a while… I've been so busy! There will be action in the NEXT chapter. HOPE you like IT!**

**~Katlover101**

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><p><strong>Percy's POV<strong>

"Ah…Hollywood. The land of the awesome wanna-be's!" Anna says, completely annoyed for being here.

"What? Hollywood stars aren't wanna-be's…" Lauren says, "Are they?"

"Of course! You know all those action movies where they fight with swords and everyone knows it's fake? Well, they're wanna-be's of us! Because with us…it real…" Maria says until she turns away to stare at the skyscrapers. This was the first time I had heard her speak since Chicago.

"We should find death valley…" Nico says

"Wait…why didn't you just transport there and grab it?" I ask.

"I don't know! I'll be back!" He disappeared and we were left waiting for him. He appears again after five minutes and returns with a tomato.

"A tomato?" Bridgette asks. "That's what we're looking for?"

"UGH! NICO!" I say.

"I'm guessing that's not it!" he immaterialized again. Tick tock, tick tock. The time passed again and he reappeared after ten minutes. With a Frisbee.

"HERE! TOSS IT TO ME!" yelled Tony.

I glared at him. "THAT'S NOT EVEN A BALL!"

"sorry…" gone in an instant. Returns after fifteen minutes. With something else…

"What about this?"

"NOPE!" I yelled.

"WHERE ON OLYMPUS DID YOU FIND A RED BRA IN THE UNDERWORLD!" the girls asked in complete horror.

"I'm GUESSING that's not it," said Davido, "sadly…"

"DON'T EVEN MAKE A JOKE!" Lauren yelled while punching his arm. All Davido got was a tiny bruise.

"Go find the RED BALL!" I said. After a half an hour, he returns with the red ball.

"You've been looking for a whole hour to find this, you know that right?" That Nerdy White Kid told him.

"I know I'm pathetic…" Nico said and he blushed so much I thought he was going to explode.

"Well, now can we talk to Annabeth?" I asked.

"Yeah…" he replied. After a full meeting with Annabeth, we learned that she was trying to tell us about the Erinyes when she was cut off the last time we spoke and that she was super excited to be going home soon. Annabeth was excited to meet three new sisters and the rest of the crew too, but Elida and her hedgehog kind of freaked her out though…

"WHY DO PEOPLE HATE ME!" Elida yelled as we ate at Subway.

"Because it's you!" Anna replied with a grin. Elida frowned and pulled a piece of cheese from her sub, then chucked it at Anna's head.

"I HATE YOU!" Anna yelled and I swear I felt the ground shake. I almost saw flames in her eyes as well!

"Well, that's good to know? How many times have you told me that? Like 20?" Elida said, seriously wanting to keep track.

"No…26…" Anna replied.

"You two are so annoying! I'm having a hard time eating my no croutons, no tomato, to cheese, fat free, no meat, no veggies, no calorie, and lettuce salad!" complained Lauren. We stared at her in amazement. She really did care about her wait. She looked at Elida in disgust.

"HOW CAN YOU EAT THAT? THERE'S FAT, AND CALORIES, AND CARBS!"

Elida just looked down at her fried sub and said, "Yum!" Then she chomped on a huge portion of it.

"Well, are we going to Kennewick now?" asked Crack Head.

"Yeah, after we eat. We have a bus that's coming down to get us. After that, we will go to the Juniper Dunes, and that's where you'll have to leave." I said.

"OH! I ALMOST FORGOT! I know what's guarding the entrance!" Nico said.

"Oh my Gods! I totally forgot about that!" I remembered being in the hotel and he was trying to tell us before he had a father/son talk with Hades.

"It's giant scorpions!" he replied. Everyone fell silent.

"I swear, that's too much like the frickin' Clash of the Titans movie!" the Manster said.

"Well, it's what the gods want us to fight!" I said.

"maybe I could give them some new ideas! They're going old school!" Bridgette said.

"I'll help…" Maria grinned deviously, as she sharpened her blade. I swear I wanted to back up since she was scaring the living crap out of me at the moment. I think everyone else agreed with me, since they did back up.

BEEB! HONK!

A bus honked and I began to gather up my stuff. Nico did too.

"Well, there's our ride!" I said and then everyone threw away their food. Lauren didn't even finish 20% of her salad while Elida was ordering her third deep fried sub with loads of cheese.

"THAT'S SO DISGUSTING!" Lauren yelled as grease bubbles exploded every time she took a bite.

"humm YUM!" she hummed.

"I'm so glad there's a treadmill on the bus, by the way we'll need some buckets and some gas masks!" Nico said. Everyone groaned, since Elida was the one on the treadmill, throwing up probably poisonous grease.

"I'll go get the buckets…" That Nerdy White Kid volunteered as we led ourselves to our certain doom…this was going to be a great bus ride…

not...


	22. To Annabeth! Part 1

**Hey! I'm so sorry that this took like a decade to write. This is one of the final scenes where they break in and defeat Giant Scorpions! Hope you like this.**

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><p><strong>Percy's POV<strong>

The Washington air flowed into my nostrils. It was a lot better than Elida's vomit.

"That was the worst trip EVER!" Lauren complained as she got out of the bus.

"I concur…" Anna said, glaring at Elida and her hedgehog.

"STERPIKE ATTACK!" she yelled. Steerpike jumped but only hit the ground.

"Ugh…" Crack head said, "Give it a rest…"

"Whatever, we have got to get to the Juniper Dunes!" Nico told us as he sat on a picnic table.

"We'll need some supplies…" Bridgette said.

"There's a Sports Authority. Elida and I can buy some good bow equipment and add bronze tips, I always carry extra," That Nerdy White Kid suggested.

"Okay, what about armor?" the Manster asked.

"Ranch and Home," I said pointing at the sign across the street.

"Maria, Crack Head, Davido, Tony, Bridgette, and the Manster, you can go get some of that, oh Anna too," Nico commanded. Anna glared at him and walked with the Ranch and Home division.

"She scares the crud out of me…" Nico told me, I snickered.

"Can I go to Target to buy food?" asked Lauren.

"Yeah…" Nico replied.

"YAY!" she said and she walked down the road.

* * *

><p>"Alright, we have um…you and me left!" I said.<p>

"What are we going to do?" Nico asked.

"Plan…" I said. "Wait, we need a daughter of Athena. Tell Anna to get back over here."

"Anna!" Nico yelled and he waved her over. Anna trotted back over and asked what the Hades we needed.

"You're a good guy for picking me for the job…" she said as she sat next to me. "Get me a map." I pulled one out of my bag and Nico located the area of the entrance. He also marked with a red crayon the points of the giant scorpions.

"Okay, there are four giant scorpions. If you haven't noticed already, there is one for each direction: North, South, East, and West. Now there are… 12 of us total, you two and then the rest of us. We can have two people for each direction and two on look out, while you two try to sneak in!" she said with a smug look on her face.

"Wow…you're good!"

"All in a moment's work!" she said and she ran to help the others carry the armor back. Elida and That Nerdy White Kid had also come back with there archery stuff, too.

* * *

><p>"Did they suspect anything?" we asked as they struggled over the hundreds of pounds of steel.<p>

"Um, yeah!" Bridgette replied and she dropped her armor on Elida's foot.

"OW!" Elida yelled and she hopped on one foot while clutching the other.

"Hahaha…funny…" Anna said and she watched the whole incident.

"You've got a sick mind!" the Manster said.

"Don't we all?" Maria asked, eerily, still sharpening her dagger. We backed away.

"Well, we have all the armor; we even bought a blade sharpener!" Davido said patting the boxes.

"We have our archery ready for action!" Elida and That Nerdy White Kid posed with their bows and arrows. We laughed.

"We need to tell you our plan of action…" Anna said, getting back to business. Nico and I held up the map as she demonstrated how things were going to work.

"Nice work!" the others congratulated Anna. She blushed. That was the first time I'd seen her do that.

"Well, let's get to the Dunes." Tony said, with his sword in his hand.

"HEY! I just got an idea! Let's rent four wheelers!" Lauren said with a huge bag of First Aid and food plus water bottles.

"That'd be fun!" the Manster said.

"That Nerdy White Kid and I are good with shooting on moving vehicles!" Elida bragged. "And we have three extra bows!"

"We could get Davido to go try archery!"

"Uh…no…" Davido said.

"Then Crack head?"

"sure!" Crack Head said. **(Ha-ha that rhymed!)**

"I'll try archery too!" Bridgette chimed in.

"Awesome…you can be on my 4-wheeler!" Anna said giving me a knuckle bump.

"Then what are we waiting for?" That Nerdy White Kid asked.

"Let's get ready!"

"I BOUGHT WALKIE TALKIES!" Lauren yelled.

"Let's go stealth mode…" Tony said and hid behind a tree.

I felt nervous having a lot of unfocused kids fighting the scorpions, but Annabeth was so close in our grasp, I couldn't let her fall away or let us die!

* * *

><p>"Can we have code names?" Elida asked as Bridgette passed out the walkie-talkies.<p>

"Um…no comment…" she replied since I gave her a questioning look.

"Why not? North, south, east and west!" Anna replied.

"No! That's just stupid!" Elida told her, "We need things like Samara, Aragorn, Lestat, and Bacon! Or Steerpike, I like that one better, he can be the mascot!" Elida petted Steerpike's head.

"Or we could choose rainbow, butterflies, unicorns, and cupcakes!" Lauren suggested. Nico and I exchanged looks.

"We'll go with Elida's…" I said.

"YES!" she yelled. "Take THAT!" She pointed directly in Anna's face.

"I HATE YOU!" Anna freaked.

"27! That's 27 times you've told me that!" Elida said proudly.

"Whatever. Elida's 4-wheeler, which contains…Elida and Davido, will be Steerpike and will come from the east, That Nerdy White Kid's 4-wheel with That Nerdy White Kid and Tony will be um…Samara and will be from the south, Crack Head's 4-wheel, which has Crack head and Maria, will be Lestat and will come from the west, and last but not least, Bridgette's 4-wheeler with Bridgette and Anna will be Aragorn. They will be north. Got it every one?" Nico commanded, "We also have Lauren watching at the east and the Manster watching at the west. Percy and I will be the package!"

"GO TEAM STEERPIKE!" Elida yelled.

"Punch her in the face will you?" Anna asked Davido.

"Whatever…" Davido shrugged.

* * *

><p>"Aragorn is approaching the north scorpion," Lauren voice over the radios.<p>

"Copy that!" Anna said as she slid past a scorpion's leg. The pinchers tried to smash them, but Bridgette's arrow saved both their lives.

"We got west scorpion going for reinforcements! Go Lestat! Distract it!" the Manster voiced.

"We're on it!" Maria said smoothly as she soared in the air and Crack Head clutching to the vehicle, a perfect slow motion moment, and landed on all fours. Crack Head breathed.

"Nice landing!" Crack head complimented.

"Any time…" she said and she slid down her shades.

"Go get them Samara and Steerpike!" Lauren said and she posed her binoculars to get a clear shot.

"We're on our way!" Tony desperately yelled as he drove to give That Nerdy White Kid a clear shot of the scorpions. They drove under the legs and shot upwards.

"Wow! Did you see that guys?" the Manster asked as he spotted Bridgette cheering in the air, doing some dancing.

"We're a little busy!" Everyone else yelled.

"They just took down the whole scorpion!" Lauren said, darting her gaze to the north.

"WHAT?" Elida asked.

"HEY! ARCHERS! USE YOUR GRAPPLING HOOKS!" Bridgette shouted over the sound of the fallen scorpion's screech for help. Sweat trickled down my wrist as I listened to everyone risking their lives to help us…to help Annabeth.

"Grip their legs with the hooks like they do in movies and drive around them and make them trip! It's surprisingly effective!" Anna instructed.

"COPY THAT!" Davido said and he darted past the first leg. Elida tossed the hook, hoping it would catch, and it did.

"Yes!" she yelled and she cuddled with Steerpike. Steerpike nibbled on her thumb as if saying "Good job!" I saw an opening.

"Come on Nico, grab the jars! I got the ball and the lyre!" I told Nico personally. I reached for the walkie-talkie and yelled, "The package is on delivery!" There were many good lucks and goodbyes as we started on our way to the entrance. We hiked down the dune at a rapid pace, hoping that the scorpions wouldn't catch us by surprise. An arrow blocked Nico path, almost hitting his foot.

"WATCH YOUR FIRE!" Nico yelled into the radio, but it echoed and there was a loud creaking noise.

"THE SCORPIONS!" Lauren yelled.

"They're heading toward Nico and Percy! Go! Pour the blood! FIND ANNABETH!" the Manster yelled. Nico tried to grab the bottles but his sweaty fingers acted as if butter was spread on top of them.

"Help me with this!" Nico said. I grabbed the blood jar and I handed the water to Nico. As he opened it up, a little spark and a flame emerged. Nico looked mesmerized.

"Focus!" I said. I opened the blood and the stench burned my nostrils. I slowly poured it into the jar, my hands shaking during the process. An Earthquake/volcanic eruption rumble appeared and everyone except the scorpions was being affected. Elida knocked an arrow and instantly shot it at the nearest scorpion. It stuck between its armor and it crashed into the ground. Black liquid escaped from the point at which Elida's arrow had struck.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Maria yelled into the radio. Elida threw a stick at it instead. It burned and the smell drew into the air. A small entrance opened at the bottom of a dune and it was lit with bone candles.

"GO!" Lauren yelled and we ran into the cave of the dead, as I now call it. The door smashed behind us with a _BOOM!_And we were left alone in the cave.

"_Screech-_are you-guys—o—ay?" We barely heard Bridgette ask into the walkie-talkie.

"We're fine…" I replied as Nico grabbed a torch.

"_Screech-_Watch-for- …" Bridgette was gone.

"Well, we're on our way, Annabeth…" I muttered under my breath and we started to walk down the passageway to the Underworld.

* * *

><p><strong>Annabeth's POV<strong>

Ghouls and spirits are rampaging and are freaking out. They say that someone has broken in. I dear hope that it's Percy. I remained calm and figured out everything by listening to the others' screams.

"Miss Chase…You are needed by Hades…" Tisiphone, one of the Furies, said.

"Alright…" I replied as I walked through the crowd to see the lord of the dead.

* * *

><p><strong>This took a long time, so don't hate me if you hate it. I'm sorry if you DON'T like it, but I hope you did. This took a lot of effort!<strong>

**~Katlover101**


	23. To Annabeth! Part 2

**Annabeth's POV**

Tisiphone led me to the palace and I wondered what Hades wanted with me. He might be making a challenge for Percy and Nico; that boosted my spirits about them saving me. The door creaked open. It was still the same since I'd last been there! I mean that was years ago!

"Thank you Tisiphone," Hades said.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"I have a nice room for you to sleep in. It will be like Percy and Nico are storming the castle to find you in the tallest tower, except you'll be in a heavily guarded hallway!" he told me and he got up from his throne. He paced back and forth, making me a bit curious.

"What's the catch?" I asked. Hades stopped. He turned to face me and his face was confused.

"Why does everybody always assume that there's a catch? Why can't people just accept my offers?" Hades asked and he sulked back into his throne again and he rested his palm upon his forehead.

"Because, it's you! How am I supposed to know if you are giving me a toxic room that will kill me?" I asked. I folded my arms over my chest and just looked at him. He looked up from his hand to look at me.

"That's what SO amazing about being Lord of the Dead!" he complained, "Can I at least show you the room?"

"Um…" I thought for a moment, "sure?"

"Thank you…" he stood up and motioned me down a bejeweled hallway. We walked past many fancy rooms. I was guessing that they were Hades and Persephone's room and maybe Nico's or other children's rooms.

"OH! Here we are! We had it decorated for you…" He said and he motioned for me to step into the room. I took a peak. It didn't look _TOO_ dangerous. I journeyed into the room a little farther. There was a bathroom and a bed with blue-ish gray bed sheets, representing my gray eyes (Or at least that was what I was guessing). I saw a dresser and a night stand with some supplies on top like a working digital clock and a picture frame with a picture of Percy and me. I turned to Hades.

"Where did you get that?" I asked. He just smiled warmly, a bit suspiciously, and told me to look around more in the room. My eyes fell on a laptop on a desk with a chair. Why on Olympus would he trust me with a LAPTOP? I turned and saw him closing the door. I ran and yelled after him, but he locked it and I was shut in. I turned back to the room and it changed before my eyes. There was not longer a huge comfy bed, but a sleeping bag that was covered with dust. There wasn't a dresser or a nightstand. There was a small clock but it was out of batteries. The picture of Percy and me was tacked to the wall, leaving me sad and feeling alone. There was no laptop. I was surprised to have a bathroom though! It wasn't luxury, but it had all the things a girl needs.

"Oh what have I gotten myself into?" I pondered over this. I scanned the walls. Solid rock…great. There was a window that looked over a small cave, but there were probably only devilish creatures sulking in there. I didn't do a thing with the chair, but I threw the clock at the window. The clock broke even more, but the window was spotless and undamaged.

"Probably diamond…" I noted to myself, "the hardest mineral in the world…" I picked up the sleeping bag and shook off the dust. I felt something in it so I dumped out the contents. A skeleton. How fun! Before I turned away, a little flicker of movement caught my eye. A little spider crawled out from the skeleton's skull. I shrieked and grabbed the chair. I pounded it and tried my best to smash the dang thing before it KILLED me. After about twelve minutes of trying to kill it, I stopped and observed my wreckage: I destroyed the chair, I broke most of the bones to a fine dust, and there is a dead spider on my floor. Okay. I'm good. Unzipping my sleeping bag, I brushed off the dust and dirt from inside and laid on top if it. I dreamed of Percy…

"_Annabeth," Percy said to me as he brushed a lock of my hair out of my face._

"_Percy! Thank you for saving me!" I hugged him and he looked stunned._

"_I need to tell you something…" he said._

"_What?" I asked as I gripped his hand and sat next to him on the sleeping bag._

"_I'm not taking you." I stared. He stood up._

"_Wait? What do you mean by that?" I asked. He turned to me._

"_I've been on this long gruesome quest. I've had a lot of thinking time. I eventually thought, 'why am I doing this? Why am I wasting my time to save you?' I mean. Why would I? You are just another girl on this blasted planet. I got all the way here to figure that out. I don't love you…I never did. It was all just a figment of my imagination, I guess…" he said and he let go of my hand. I felt tears drip from my eyes. I wouldn't believe that this was true. I couldn't. But it felt so…REAL!_

"_Percy…" I whined, begging him to take me with him._

"_No. Because of your nagging, I hate you. I hope you never get out of this dreaming place!" The vision ended._

So this was a dreaming place? It must have told the future, since every aspect of the room was correct. He hated me… I cried on the sleeping bag and forced myself to stay awake so I wouldn't face the wrath of the horrid dreams.

**Percy's POV**

The darkness of the cave consumed me. The only light we had was the torches on the walls a gruesome odor hung in the air, as if peoples' corpses were rotting. Nico's and my footsteps echoed in the damp, humid hallway. The whole way I thought about Annabeth. Her warm gray eyes, her gentile smile, her annoying attitude. Yeah. Athena would kill me if she heard me think that.

A stone door blocked our path.

"I got it," Nico said and he walked through the rock.

"What the Hades?" I muttered, wondering how he'd done that. I pressed my sweaty hand to the cool solid stone and pushed. Nothing happened. I sighed. Then a deep rumbling broke the silence. I jumped back as the door lurched towards me and it swung to my right. Nico stood concentrating, his eyes shut tight and his brow soaked with perspiration. I walked slowly and anxious of the door. As I stepped behing Nico, he opened his eyes and the door slammed.

"What was that?" I demanded. He ruffled his hair and stared at me.

"I really don't know. I just felt like that's what was needed to be done!" he confessed.

"You walked strait through that door, but it remained firm when I touched it. Why?" I inquired. We started to walk down the passageway together, letting our feet clap with the floor.

"Well, I am a son of Hades!" he said, gazing at the skulls now lining the walls. I think one nodded at him.

"That's true, and this is your home…" I mentioned. He nodded in agreement. The warm air refreshed me as we walked deeper into the hallway. An eruption of growls exploded from around the corner. I gripped the red ball in my hand, it squeaked a bit.

"There's Cerberus," Nico said and he pointed through a crack in the wall. The hall made a 180 turn so we couldn't see Cerberus, but we certainly knew he was there. My hands sweated even more. I got an idea.

"Hey, I can chuck this ball at the wall and it will bounce to Cerberus, hopefully!" I whispered and I showed him the spot I'd toss it at. He nodded and let me throw it. I threw it with as much force as I could and prayed to the gods that it'd hit its mark.

It did.

I thanked Apollo for good aim. I almost saw the light brighten.

Loud barks echoed around the corner.

"Okay, I think he saw it!" I said.

"Really now?" Nico said and he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh shut up!~ We have to hurry!" we ran around the corner with Cerberus staring at us. We froze. He dropped the ball from one of its three heads. I think It was the middle one.

"Fetch?" I asked. Cerberus nodded. I picked up the slimy rubber and threw it effortlessly across the hall. Cerberus charged.

"GO…" Nico said and we ran past him. I gripped Riptide, waiting for an ambush. Nothing. After walking a bit longer, I saw a light at the end of the cave.

"Come on!" Nico paused to tie his shoe. I groaned. "Hurry up!"

"One sec!" he yelled back. Oh…a double knot. "Okay let's go!"

We jogged to the end of the cave. Light blinded us, but eventually faded. We were staring at the field of Asphodel. I scanned for a tangled mess of blonde in the screaming crowd.

"What going on?" I asked. "A hellhound get loose?"

"They know we're here…" he said.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you like this. This took forever for me to type so my fingers hurt SO MUCH right now! I thank all those who have continued to read me story!<strong>

**Thanks again!**

**~Katlover101**


	24. To the End

**Hi! I've been busy with basketball and homework so I haven't been able to type. Thanks for being patient, well some of you (COUGHS* STEERPIKE JENNKINGS! COUGH!) ;D hehehe. Hope you enjoy this chaper. I don't know how long it will end up being, so don't be mad at me!**

**~Katlover101**

* * *

><p><strong>Annabeth's POV<strong>

I'm more lonely than ever, especially knowing how Pecy's betraying me. I walk around barefoot on the cold stone floor. It chills me to the bone, sising up my spine. THe darkness destroyed me and turned me against the light. I look out the window and past the entrance of the cave to the Fields of Asphodel. Screams float throught the wall, bringing me worry.

_'Percy is here...I just know it...' _I think to myself.

I look out the window, toward the cave. I see two figures emerge and climb down the rocks. Then they scan the screaming crowd. The younger, brown haired boy mentions something the older one and runs off in the direction of the fields of Punishment. I stare forward. The older black haired boy scans the crowd like twenty more times, sighing as he finds nothing. Then the younger boy trots back. They converse and shake there heads, dissatisfied. After a couple more minutes of talking, they look over the fields of screaming people. The sea green eyed boy looks around at Hades' Palace until he spots me and our eyes meet. Green meets gray. He nudges the younger boy while he was taking out a couple Power Bars and two waters. He asks a question to the younger boy, pointing in my general direction. I freeze. The boy takes a quick glance at me and turns to answer. He runs his had trough his hair. As I watch his lips move, I catch a couple words, like "Dream Room" But only one catches my eye.

Percy.

O crap! It's Nico and Percy! They're here and about to ruin my life. I dash for the closet. After a couple minutes, I hear Percy yell something; a name. MY NAME! He's come to break my heart. I can't let him do that. I'll attack him, if he makes it alive.

...

They've made camp outside the entrance of the cave now and it's making me nervous. Every second they stay, my nightmares haunt me. Knowing them previously, they were planning. Nico must know the inside of the palace, from living here. I had seen his room. After months of this quest must be agonizing. _' Why do I feel sympathedic?'_ I ask myself. They are currently the reason I'm in here. I will hate them. I hope he dies.

**_SCREECH_!**

Ambush! Glowing eyes seek the two out in the crearing. But I don't care. _'Anything to slow them down...' _Nico and Percy pull out their swords. Blades clash with scales. I creep toward the window to see what happens.

"I though Nico didn't fight with swords..." I say aloud, although I know that no one is there to hear me. I watch Nico, he's quite good for a son of Hades. I mean...no offence Hades...your sons and daughters are as creepy as Hell, well they are the Underworld children. You know what? NEVERMIND!

After a couple of minutes, they had defeated the flying reptile by Percy launching Nico into the air to slice its neck open and to let it bleed to death. Percy's glance focuses to me and I see him mouth some word that shock me to death, or something since I'm already dead.

They are: "I'll find you...Annabeth, I love you..."

I stare wide-eyed as he dashed to storm the castle. That can't be the real Percy if the dreams are truely the future. Those must be holigrams. I sulk toward the pile of chair and bone dust. Digging a hole in it, I tried to remember what happened to it. After sleeping, it's a bit fuzzy. I should wash my face.

After walking into the bathroom, I look into the cracked mirror. From what I can see clearly, I look like horrible; my eyes are shot and they have bags undernieth them. My hair is full of dirt and is really greesy. I even have breakouts on my chin and nose. I grab my only cup to fill with water so I can watch my face until I hear a little bell telling me I get food. It's slid in a one way opening.

Yay! Pasta! I get spaghetti and garlic bread. It doesn't cross my mind that it's the slightest bit suspicious and quality. I just dig in. After the whole plate is gone and I'm picking off my garlic bread, I feel my eyelids drop. I'm suddenly on the ground in a deep sleep.

**Percy's POV**

I bust open the door in hopes to find Annabeth, but where do I begin? I glance at Nico for an answer.

"My room as well as Hades' is this way. I don't that's the hallway, but it's heavily guarded. This isn't guarded at all, so that couldn't be it. The third hallway leads to a stairway to the surface, with rooms on the way up. This isn't guarded as much. But when we saw Annabeth earlier, she was downstairs. So if I'm righ, she'll be down the really heavily guarded hallway," he replies. Slow claps break the silence as Hades emerges from behind a flame pillar.

"At least someone's got the brains..." he says with a smug look on his face.

"HADES!" Persephone yells and she storms in the room. "Let the poor children have Annabeth!" Hades looses his smile and glares at her.

"No...direct orders from Zeus," he says, pointing up.

"Not to have her imprisioned and doomed in COMPLETE MISSERY!" she yells. I watch as her hand scoot us away and the guards do too, for some reason. "He said for her to be hidden!"

"She is hidden!" we run down the hallway to the room. I twisted the knob to find out it was locked. I kicked the door. _BANG! BANG! BANG! SNAP! _The wood splits leaving me in front of a horrible sight. Annabeth is on the floor, appearing to be dead but speaking.

"ANNABETH!" I yell and I shake her.

**Annabeth's POV**

My dream is the same:

_"Annabeth," Percy said to me as he brushed a lock of my hair out of my face._

_"Percy! Thank you for saving me!" I hugged him and he looked stunned._

_"I need to tell you something…" he said._

_"What?" I asked as I gripped his hand and sat next to him on the sleeping bag._

_"I'm not taking you." I stared. He stood up._

_"Wait? What do you mean by that?" I asked. He turned to me._

_"I've been on this long gruesome quest. I've had a lot of thinking time. I eventually thought, 'why am I doing this? Why am I wasting my time to save you?' I mean. Why would I? You are just another girl on this blasted planet. I got all the way here to figure that out. I don't love you…I never did. It was all just a figment of my imagination, I guess…" he said and he let go of my hand. I felt tears drip from my eyes. I wouldn't believe that this was true. I couldn't. But it felt so…REAL!_

_"Percy…" I whined, begging him to take me with him._

_"No. Because of your nagging, I hate you. I hope you never get out of this dreaming place!" _

_"Annabeth!" I hear Percy yell, but his lips don't move._

_"What is going on?" I ask._

_"DON'T LISTEN TO IT!" the voice yells again. I fell an earthquake._

_"EARTHQUAKE? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?" I yell._

_"NO it's me! Wake up! Deny it!" Percy says. _

_"She cannot wake up!" a low demonic voice yells. I watch as the Percy that I can see transforms into a dark shadow above me. "SHE IS MINE!"_

_"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T WAKE UP!" I yell as I hear my voice grow smaller and smaller, as if it's consuming me._

_"Yes! Annabeth! Fight it! You can! Fight back!" Percy yells._

_"You're too weak. I mean look at yourself, you are ugly as hell, that's why you belong as my bride..." it says._

_"BRIDE?" _

_"Bride?" _

_"Yes...you will be a queen!" it temps me, but if this isn't real, PERCY IS!_

_"NO! I LOVE PERCY!" I yell._

_"That's it Annabeth!"_

_"I CAN CHANGE MY APPEARANCE AND NAME IF YOU WANT!" the demon says. I begin to cry, he was killing me emotionally too._

_"NO! I WANT PERCY JACKSON!" _

_"I believe in you! Fight!" Percy yells and shakes me even more._

_"I WILL CONSUME YOU!" it yells. _

_"Caniblism!" I say, "THAT'S SICK!"_

_"IT WANTS TO EAT YOU?" Percy yells._

_"NEVERMIND, PERCY!" I yell. I feel anger surge and rage takes in. I stan up._

_"What is this?" it asks._

_"You almost KILLED me, now it's time to kill you..." I said._

_"YES THAT'S IT!"_

_I grab my dagger, that was in my boot and I lunge at the demon. The moment it touches, it screams and disappears. I fall to the ground. My heart beats slower. I slowly open my eyes._

**Percy's POV**

**(A/N this is from the beginning of the dream!)**

"Annabeth!" I yell as I grab her shoulders. Her eyes are still shut.

"What is going on?" she asks.

"PERCY!" Nico yells as Hades comes upon him. I throw him my sword.

"DON'T LISTEN TO IT!" I yell. I shake her, trying to wake her up.

"EARTHQUAKE? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?" she yells.

"NO it's me! Wake up! Deny it!" I say, brushing her hair off her sweaty head as she wimpers. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T WAKE UP!"

What?

"Yes! Annabeth! Fight it! You can! Fight back!" I yell.

...

"BRIDE?" Annabeth says. Nico sneaks a peak at us while he deflects Hades' frieballs.

WHAT?

"Bride?" I wonder...

...

"NO! I LOVE PERCY!" she yells.

"That's it Annabeth!" Tears stream down her face

...

"NO! I WANT PERCY JACKSON!"

"I believe in you! Fight!" I yell and shake her even more. Her eyes are closed tight. I can't bare to see her like this

...

"Caniblism!" she says, "THAT'S SICK!"

WHAT THE -!

"IT WANTS TO EAT YOU?" I ask.

"NEVERMIND, PERCY!" She yells. I feel her muscles tense up. The demon says something that obviously makes her angry as Hades.

"You almost KILLED me, now it's time to kill you..." she said.

"YES THAT'S IT!" I encourage her. Her muscles are taut and she sweated like a gallon of persperation. Something snaps and she lets go of her might and slumps at my knees. Nico and Hades stop to stare at up. Her breathing slows, almost too slow. I'm about to cry when I see her eyes flicker open. Gasps.

"ANNABETH!" I yell. I wrap my arms around her and tears flow.

"Percy? Is...is that really you?" she asks. I nod. She smiles and grabs a hug.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID IT!" she yells. Nico smiles and pulls us from the room so we aren't both trapped. I carry her to the throne room. There I find multiple gods, Chiron, the Hunt and some other campers.

"ANNABETH!" Thalia yells and she runs from the Hunt.

"THALIA!" I set her down as she runs to her.

"Well done, son..." Poseidon says, I nod.

"Thanks dad..." I give him a smile.

"I know you took my goat's blood..." Demeter glares. I shrink.

"Chiron!" Annabeth yells and I meet her with him.

"Annabeth! How good of it to see you!" he says. He nods at the other demigods and I get confused. Chiron says "BACON!" and the gods reveal their true self, I turn away just in time. I look at the other demigods and I give them all a hug.

"Sup! Perce!" Grover says. I knuckle bump him. Annabeth and I step to hug each other, but we are stoped by a group of footsteps.

"PERCY!" I hear the idiotic Elida yell down the hall. Annabeth turns. I do too and we are greated by an ambush of all the campers who helped us; Elida, Bridgette, Marie, Anna, Lauren, That Nerdy White Kid (**A/N HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!**), Crack Head, The Manster, Davido, and Tony. Nico looks up to Bridgette, but he quickly truns away to hide his burnt face. Bridgette doesn't care and hugs him. I smile and surprisingly, so does Thalia.

"Ugh...why does it feel like we're in hell!" Anna yells. Annabeth laughs.

"We are in hell, even thought it fells like I'm not out of it!" Annabeth says.

...

* * *

><p><strong>HI! there will be another story about the relations of the campers in the future where they tell there kids about this.<strong>

**I don't know when it will be started. **

**~Katlover101**

**P.S. Tony did the funniest thing ever. He started to sing RED SOLO CUP while holding one up! HAHAHA the whole class laughed. His voice was spot on too! Thank you Manny (the manster) for daring that! it made my day!**


	25. Thank You for Reading!

**Please read my sequel _Bedtime Stories: Prologue_ and then my story afterthat called _The Voyage for Death_.**

**If you liked this story, you'll probably like the next! And my writing is improving so it should be better. (I have already written the Bedtime stories so if you don't like it, it's only an explainer!)**

**Also, read my other stories! I have some Holiday fanfics and a story called _Hell is the New Paradise_ where Percy's in High School! It's totally better than it seems! I've gotten many comments on it saying I wrote it well, well toward the end! :)**

**Thanks!**

**~Katlover101**


	26. News

There is a scheme brewing up with the FF staff and they're planning to take down any and every story over the M rated section (stories with yaoi, yuri, het lemons, song based stories, extreme violence, etc) ...

So on June 23rd, there will be an official Black Out. Authors will not log in, read, or review stories. Those who do not have accounts are also affected by FF's decisions too. Please participate and spread the news! If enough authors take part in this event, FF will know we mean business. Also, if anybody has any information on when this purging on M-rated fics will be please contact me. I would like to know in advance.

SPREAD THE WORD!

copy and paste this into your story updates, communities and forums

thanks!


	27. Chapter 27

Hey everyone, I need a large favor. Actually, scratch that. We all need a large favor. There is a problem globally that we need to solve.

Gender. Inequality.

You heard me, readers. Our genders aren't equal. So I really need you all to go to this link:

watch?v=TI9AA5xU02k&feature=g-all-u

And watch this video for us. This was for my Human Geography report and it is really really important. Please don't read this and think "this is bull shit". Watch it. I beg you. It is soo important that we close the gender gap. Woman are equal to men, it says so in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! BUT! We haven't achieved that. No offence to you men out there, but women is actually smarter than most men! I had a guy I interviewed admitted that!

So please, do this for me and for my co producers. It is a real big issue.

Sincerely,

Bridgette


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